UN: 5.8 million refugee children out of school in 2025 due to lack of funding

Some 5.8 million refugee children are out of school in 2025, the United Nations reported, warning that funding cuts threaten to worsen the situation. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported that 44% of the 13.1 million school-age refugee children around the world were out of school last year.

“Education is a means of protection, and it is also a path towards opportunity and self-reliance,” said Barham Salih, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He warned, "In light of the intense pressure on funding humanitarian and development operations, reducing education funding threatens to waste decades of collective investment and close the doors of opportunity to a generation of young people."

Barham Salih: Displacement should not determine a child’s future

The former Iraqi president, who was once a refugee, added that when he looks back at his life's journey, he finds that "education gave me opportunities that might have been lost to me otherwise, due to the conditions of displacement." He stressed that "displacement should not determine the ceiling or prospects of a child's life."

While 65% of refugee children of primary school age were enrolled in education in 2025, the percentage of those enrolled in secondary school did not exceed 32%, according to UNHCR. Refugee enrollment in higher education has risen to a record level of 11% in 2025.

Lack of funding exacerbates the refugee protection crisis

Earlier this week, UNHCR announced that funding available to it had decreased from $5.2 billion in 2024 to $3.9 billion in 2025, even though the number of people it is helping has reached high levels.