Nearly 5.8 million refugee children were out of school worldwide in 2025, as UNHCR’s 2026 education report warns that deepening funding cuts threaten to reverse years of hard-won progress in refugee children education.
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- UNHCR’s annual education report, “Pathways to the Future: Education, Opportunity and Self-Reliance”, was released on October 2, 2026.
- An estimated 5.8 million — 44% of the world’s 13.1 million school-aged refugee children — were out of school in 2025.
- Gross enrolment stood at 65% at primary level, 32% at secondary level and 11% at tertiary level, a record high.
- More than 450,000 refugees were enrolled in higher education — the highest level ever recorded.
- UNHCR and partners are working towards 15% refugee enrolment in higher education by 2030.
Secondary School Is the Breaking Point
The transition from primary to secondary education remains one of the biggest challenges for refugee learners. While 65% of refugee children of primary-school age were enrolled in primary education in 2025, only 32% were enrolled in secondary education.
For refugee girls, the transition to secondary school is close to breaking point. While girls and boys attend primary school at broadly similar rates, the gap widens sharply in secondary education, as poverty, protection risks, early marriage and other pressures push increasing numbers of adolescent girls out of school.
Higher Education Reaches Record High
Against this backdrop, progress in higher education shows what sustained investment can achieve. Refugee tertiary enrolment reached a record 11% in 2025, up from 9% in 2024, with more than 450,000 refugees enrolled in higher education for the first time — the highest level recorded to date.
The increase keeps UNHCR and partners on track towards the goal of reaching 15% refugee enrolment in higher education by 2030, through expanded access to universities, vocational training, connected learning opportunities, scholarships and third-country education pathways.
| Education level | Refugee enrolment, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Primary | 65% |
| Secondary | 32% |
| Tertiary (higher education) | 11% — record high |
But access remains deeply unequal. In more than 80% of reporting countries, refugee enrolment in higher education stayed below the national average last year. In low-income and conflict-affected countries, just 2% of refugees were enrolled in higher education, compared to 13% of nationals.
Funding Cuts Threaten Progress
UNHCR warns that deepening cuts to humanitarian and development aid threaten to shut millions more children out of classrooms. The agency is urging international communities and development partners to safeguard education funding and invest in the national education systems of refugee-hosting countries.
“Education is protection. But it is also a pathway to opportunity and self-reliance,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih. “At a time of severe pressure on humanitarian and development financing, cuts to education risk reversing decades of collective investment and closing opportunities for a generation of young people.”
Investing in refugee education also means strengthening the schools that serve refugees and host communities together. As more refugees learn alongside children from their host communities, schools need enough teachers, classrooms, learning materials and financing to make inclusion work in practice.
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