The Price of Inaction: The Global Private, Fiscal and Social Costs of Children and Youth Not Learning

Despite efforts by countries, the number of out-of-school children remains significant, with 128 million boys and 122 million girls excluded from schooling. Educational skills deficits are also immense – 57 per cent of the world’s children have not gained basic skill levels.

UNESCO, OECD and the Commonwealth Secretariat have developed the first global report to illustrate the monetary costs to economies around the world of leaving children and youth behind in education.

Using available evidence, the report calculates the costs, globally and by region, of children and youth that are not in school or gaining basic skills. Calculations are also provided for twenty selected countries in which there are gender disparities in education at either girls’ or boys’ expense. If governments were to increase efforts so that every child was in school and achieving basic skills, the future world GDP would raise by more than US$6.5 trillion annually, not to mention eliminating the social costs of failure.

This publication offers the evidence and insights that show that for economic development to accelerate, so must prioritizations and investments in education and gender-transformative action.