International Day of Education - January 24

Girls education infographic by UKAid, an African girl in the bottom right wears a school uniform and smiles at the camera. In the background there is an image of a chalkboard which has a quote on it about the girls learning experience and her hopes for the future.
DFID - UK Department for International Development | CC BY 2.0

➡️ INTERNATIONAL DAY OF EDUCATION, January 24 - The Power of Youth in Co-creating Education

Established by the United Nations, International Day of Education is celebrated annually on January 24 to highlight the role of education in peace and development. Education is a human right, yet 251 million children worldwide are out of school.

Conflict, poverty, child labour, gender inequality, child marriage, poor funding, and even climate change are all denying children the opportunity to reach their full potential.

This day aims to raise awareness and mobilise international cooperation to achieve universal education goals such as Sustainable Development Goal 4, 'Quality Education - Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all'.

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The 2026 theme, "The power of youth in co-creating education," highlights the crucial role of young people as agents of change in designing inclusive, relevant, and forward-thinking learning systems. It focuses on the importance of youth participation in education policy and legislation to build peaceful, just, and sustainable societies.

Education is a key driver for equality, peace, and poverty alleviation. Not only is it a means to improve society as a whole, but it is a long-term investment with increasing returns. Education is an essential tool to address and prevent global challenges of the future, such as climate change, the erosion of democracy, persistent inequalities, discrimination, hate, violence, and conflict. The time to transform education is now.

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"One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world." - Malala Yousafzai

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Map showing the percentage of children not enrolled in primary education worldwide in 2024, with statistical data by region.
Statista | CC BY-ND 4.0

The State of Global Education

  • Conflict disrupted the education of 127 million children in 2025.

  • Extreme climate events and natural disasters disrupted the education of 242 million children in 2024.

  • In one in three countries, fewer than three-quarters of teachers are adequately trained to national standards. This leaves 130 million children attending schools where they are not even learning the basics.

  • A child of a mother who can read is 50% more likely to survive past the age of 5.

  • Nearly 34 million girls of primary school age do not have the opportunity to attend school.

  • It would take $39 billion every year to send all adolescents to school.

  • In 2025, 138 million children around the world were in child labour, preventing them from attending school - almost 1 in 10 of all children.

  • Equitable access to quality education can help a country raise its GDP by 23% in just 40 years.

  • If all women were able to complete primary education, there would be 1.7 million fewer malnourished children.

  • An estimated 739 million adults are illiterate; roughly two-thirds of these people are women. Literacy is a key factor in empowerment, better health, increased labour market participation, and poverty reduction.

Image offering facts about girls who stay in education and all of the benefits it brings to women and girls aswell as the effects if they do not complete school.. The image is mostly black and made to look like a chalkboard. There is an image of a smiling African girl holding her certificate in the corner. The image was created by UKaid.
Flickr | DFID

On this International Day of Education, we must reaffirm our commitment to ensuring everyone has safe and equal access to education.

The SDGs are failing, and education plays a key role in most, if not all, of the 17 goals. Only one in six countries is on track to provide universal access to quality education. Without achieving SDG4, we cannot hope to achieve sustainable development at all.

Current trends reveal that 84 million children aged 6 to 17 will be out of school in 2030. Only 60% of children complete secondary school, and 60% of those do not achieve minimum proficiency in reading and mathematics.

Vast inequalities still exist both within and across countries, with less than 1% of the world's poorest children completing 4 years of higher education. We must continue to break down the barriers that prevent children from shaping their own futures.

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world," - Nelson Mandela

LIVE Stream on YouTube and Peace One Day from 10:30 a.m. London time and broadcast around the world. It will bring together dozens of education advocates and hundreds of people in a global call for Education Day.

Author: Rachael Mellor, 02.01.25 (Updated 22.01.26) licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

For further reading on International Day of Education see below ⬇️