Education accessibility has expanded substantially, yet access remains uneven across the education journey. In 2024, 273 million children, adolescents and youth were out of school worldwide. Completion, connectivity, school facilities and inclusive policy also vary sharply by country income, location and household wealth.
Contents
- Primary and secondary access
- Early childhood, tertiary and adult learning
- Gender, location and wealth gaps
- Digital connectivity and skills
- Facilities, safety and teachers
- Policy, inclusion and financing
Primary and secondary access
The global out-of-school total includes learners at several stages. UNESCO reported 79 million primary-school-age children, 64 million lower-secondary-school-age adolescents and 130 million upper-secondary-school-age youth out of school in 2024. Together, these figures show that access challenges continue beyond the first years of schooling.
The overall out-of-school rate was 36% in low-income countries in 2024, compared with 3% in high-income countries. This difference is reflected in completion. Worldwide, 88% of the relevant cohort completed primary education on time, 78% completed lower-secondary education on time and 61% completed upper-secondary education on time in 2024. In low-income countries, only 20% of the relevant cohort completed upper-secondary education on time.
| Indicator, 2024 | Worldwide | Low-income countries | High-income countries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Out-of-school rate | — | 36% | 3% |
| On-time upper-secondary completion | 61% | 20% | — |
These measures describe different parts of access: being enrolled or attending is not the same as completing a level on time. The distinction matters when assessing whether education systems provide a sustained route from primary school through secondary graduation.
The scale of enrolment has nevertheless grown. Primary and secondary school enrolment increased by 327 million students between 2000 and 2024, and 1.4 billion students were enrolled in school worldwide in 2024. These totals show expansion in participation while also underscoring the size of the systems needed to serve learners consistently.
The 2024 global completion figures come from Monitoring education in the SDGs | Global Education Monitoring Report. The age-group out-of-school figures come from Out-of-school rate | UNESCO.
Early childhood, tertiary and adult learning
Access gaps appear before primary school. About 75% of children participated in organized learning one year before primary school globally in 2023, but this level had stagnated since 2015. After adjusting for children who enter primary school early, about 60% attended at least one year of pre-primary education in 2023.
Low-income countries made progress over a longer period: participation in organized learning one year before primary school rose from 29% in 2008 to 48% in 2023. The increase still left participation below the global level, showing why early learning access is a separate issue from formal primary enrolment.
At the tertiary level, the global gross enrolment ratio reached 44% in 2024. The ratio was below 15% in low-income countries and exceeded 80% in high-income countries. Gross enrolment ratios can include students outside the typical age group, so they should be read as participation measures rather than as the share of one age cohort completing university.
Other forms of learning remain comparatively limited. Among 15- to 24-year-olds, participation in technical and vocational education and training rose from 2.7% globally in 2000 to 3.7% in 2024. Among adults aged 25–64, participation in education and training rose from 2.0% in 2000 to 2.4% in 2024. Internationally mobile students represented 2.8% of tertiary students worldwide in 2023.
The 2026 GEM report’s global summary also states that 60% of students who enrol in university never graduate. This is a report-level global summary statistic for the period identified by that report, not a replacement for the 2024 gross enrolment ratio. The relevant source is What does the 2026 GEM Report say about access and equity in education?.
Gender, location and wealth gaps
Education accessibility is shaped by more than national averages. In low-income countries, 79 young women completed upper-secondary school for every 100 young men in 2024. In high-income countries, the corresponding figure was 106 young women for every 100 young men. The comparison indicates a gender disadvantage for young women in low-income settings and a modest female advantage in high-income settings at this education stage.
Location creates an especially large divide in low-income countries. In 2024, 30 rural youth completed upper-secondary education for every 100 urban youth. Wealth gaps were also pronounced: 40 young people from the poorest wealth quintile completed primary education for every 100 from the richest quintile, while the ratio was 20 to 100 for lower-secondary completion and 13 to 100 for upper-secondary completion.
The corresponding upper-secondary completion ratio in high-income countries was 66 young people from the poorest wealth quintile for every 100 from the richest quintile. This remains a substantial gap, even though it is narrower than the low-income-country ratio.
| Completion comparison in 2024 | Ratio |
|---|---|
| Low-income countries: young women to young men, upper secondary | 79:100 |
| High-income countries: young women to young men, upper secondary | 106:100 |
| Low-income countries: rural youth to urban youth, upper secondary | 30:100 |
| Low-income countries: poorest to richest, primary | 40:100 |
| Low-income countries: poorest to richest, lower secondary | 20:100 |
| Low-income countries: poorest to richest, upper secondary | 13:100 |
| High-income countries: poorest to richest, upper secondary | 66:100 |
Early development also differs by wealth. In Nigeria, the latest reported data in the 2026 report found that 77% of children in the richest wealth quintile were developmentally on track, compared with 30% in the poorest quintile. This is a development measure rather than a direct school-completion measure, so it should not be treated as interchangeable with the ratios above.
Data coverage itself is uneven. The 2026 report says 33% of countries do not report urban–rural gaps in primary and secondary education participation or completion. Missing breakdowns can make national or global averages look more complete than the underlying evidence base.
Digital connectivity and skills
Digital access is now part of education accessibility, but connectivity differs by age group and school level. The number of internet users worldwide rose from 2.6 billion in 2013 to 5.6 billion in 2023. Approximately 80% of young people aged 15–24 used the internet in 2023.
School connectivity was lower, especially in primary education. The latest available figures in the 2024 source show that 40% of primary schools worldwide were connected to the internet, compared with 50% of lower-secondary schools and 65% of upper-secondary schools. A connected population therefore does not imply that every learner can access online lessons through school.
| Digital access measure | Share or total | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Internet users worldwide | 2.6 billion to 5.6 billion | 2013–2023 |
| Young people aged 15–24 using the internet | Approximately 80% | 2023 |
| Primary schools connected to the internet | 40% | Latest available in 2024 source |
| Lower-secondary schools connected to the internet | 50% | Latest available in 2024 source |
| Upper-secondary schools connected to the internet | 65% | Latest available in 2024 source |
Skills also vary beyond simple connection. In the median reporting country during 2022–2024, 68% of adults participated in social networks, 54% could copy and move files, 33% could prepare electronic presentations and 6% had programming skills. These indicators measure different abilities; social-network participation should not be interpreted as evidence of advanced learning or workplace skills.
The connectivity figures are from Accessibility and effective use of digital technology in education.
Facilities, safety and teachers
Basic infrastructure remains a direct condition of attending school. In low-income countries in 2024, only 40% of primary schools had handwashing facilities, 52% had access to drinking water and 28% had electricity. In middle-income-country schools, electricity access increased from 66% in 2015 to 82% in 2024.
School meals reached 466 million children globally in 2024. Global school meal provision was 20% higher in 2024 than in 2020. These figures describe reach and change in provision; they do not establish that every child in need received a meal or that programmes were equally available across countries.
Safety is another part of practical access. More than 50% of lower-secondary students reported experiencing bullying in 70 of 83 countries with data. The latest available figure in the 2026 report records 3,909 attacks on education across 69 countries in 2024. The number of reporting countries and the measurement period should be kept visible when comparing safety indicators.
Teacher preparation also affects the ability of systems to provide accessible education. About 90% of primary teachers worldwide met minimum national academic qualification requirements in 2024, while about 82% met professional qualification requirements. These are separate requirements, so the two percentages should not be added or treated as a combined qualification rate.
Policy, inclusion and financing
Policy coverage has broadened over time. The share of countries with 12 years of compulsory education rose from 8% in 1998 to 26% in 2023. The average duration of free education increased from 10 years in 1998 to 10.8 years in 2023.
Legal recognition of inclusion also increased. The share of countries with inclusive education laws rose from 1% in 2000 to 24% in 2025. The share of countries whose laws call for children with disabilities to be taught in inclusive settings rose from 17% in 2000 to 29% in 2025. Laws indicate formal commitments, but these percentages do not measure whether inclusive settings are fully implemented in every school.
Financing mechanisms benefiting disadvantaged populations increased four- to sixfold over approximately 2000–2025. Despite that growth, fewer than 10% of countries had education-finance mechanisms with a strong equity focus in the 2026 report. The contrast suggests that the existence of a financing mechanism and the strength of its equity focus are different measures.
Finally, 80% of countries had set at least some SDG 4 benchmark targets for 2030, according to the 2026 report. Target-setting is a planning indicator, not a forecast that the targets will be achieved. Together with the expansion of compulsory education, inclusive laws and enrolment, it shows policy movement while leaving implementation, completion and equity as separate accessibility questions.
Source for the policy, inclusion and financing figures: What does the 2026 GEM Report say about access and equity in education?. Source for the broader 2024 education monitoring figures: Monitoring education in the SDGs | Global Education Monitoring Report.