Data story: How many children are out of school, and how many more seats will be needed?
2.2 million primary-age children in Uganda are not in school
26.0% of children aged 6 to 12 and 34.2% of 13-17-year-olds in Uganda were out of school in 2024. 59.9% of six-year-olds had not started Primary One, and 58.4% of children aged 3 to 5 were not in early childhood education.
- Out of school, 6-12: 26.0% (2.2 million children)
- Out of school, 13-17: 34.2% (1.9 million teenagers)
- Age 6, not in P1: 59.9% (late starters)
- Primary schools mapped: 24,705 (347 children aged 6-12 each)
What comes next: Primary-age children in 2030
If the 6-12 age group grows with the population, Uganda will have about 10.2 million primary-age children in 2030, 1.7 million more than in 2024. Keeping today's ratio of children to mapped primary schools would take about 4,823 more schools.
How this was worked out: Trend projection by Pearl Insights, not an official UBOS projection: the average annual growth rate between the August 2014 and May 2024 censuses is carried forward unchanged. The range shows the same rate 0.5 percentage points lower and higher. Real growth will differ as birth rates, migration and refugee arrivals change. School counts are OpenStreetMap features and miss some schools; the ratio is a planning signal, not a census of schools.
More data stories
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- A nation of children: How young is Uganda, and what happens when today's children grow up?
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- Where pressure builds: Which districts will feel the squeeze of growth first?
- The basics gap: How many Ugandan homes still lack grid power, safe water or a decent toilet?
- Offline Uganda: How many Ugandans are online, and how do the rest get their news?
- The jobs wave: Half of young adults are not in work or school. How many more are coming?
- Sharing a clinic: How many people share each health facility, and how many more are needed by 2030?
- How near is the state?: Where are the police stations, courts and public offices, and who has none nearby?
- Follow the money: Is public spending keeping up with a growing population?
Source: Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), National Population and Housing Census 2024 (final results, drill-down tables). Published on Pearl Insights (https://pearl-insights.org), an independent civic data platform, not an official government website.