Attacks on Education Dataset

The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) compiles the Education under Attack database which covers attacks on schools, universities, students, and educators. GCPEA compiles the database from news, non-governmental organization, and United Nations reports, as well as outreach to staff members of relevant national and international organizations. The dataset presented here covers 2020 and 2021. For more information about GCPEA’s methodology and for further analyses, see the Education under Attack 2022 report.

In 2020 and 2021, there were more than 5,000 reported attacks on education and incidents of military use of schools and universities, harming over 9,000 students and educators in at least 85 countries. On average, six attacks on education or incidents of military use occurred each day.

5,096

Attacks recorded
in 2020 & 2021

9,225

Students and educators harmed

Countries or territories

Global

Attacks by Type

The numbers listed below only represent attacks meeting the criteria for one of these categories, not the total number of attacks.

Attacks on schools

771

Attacks on students and staff

607

Attacks on higher education

493

Military use of schools or universities

173

Coverage of certain attack types may be more robust than others due to underreporting and variability in media and non-governmental organization reporting.

Global

Location of attacks

86 countries where attacks have been identified

Number of attacks in country

Global

Timeline of attacks

Slide to see more

2020

+1650 attacks (months unspecified)

2021

+1390 attacks (months unspecified)

Some attacks on education and military use cases are reported as tallies which do not specify the day or month when the incident occurred.

Global

Individuals Harmed

Students and educators injured, killed, arrested, or otherwise harmed in attacks on education or during military use.

50 students or educators harmed

Fewer than 50 students or educators harmed

TOTAL REPORTED HARMED

9,225

GIRLS OR WOMEN REPORTED HARMED

807

The number of reported girls or women harmed is likely an undercount, since some news and non-governmental organization reports did not include gender and attacks reported as tallies did not specify the gender of victims or survivors.

Global

Educational facilities damaged

Schools and Universities damaged or destroyed

10 schools or universities damaged

Total

693

The number of reported schools or universities damaged is likely an undercount, since some attacks on education and military use cases were reported as tallies which did not specify damage to educational facilities.

GCPEA, Education under Attack 2022 (New York: Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, 2022), https://eua2022.protectingeducation.org/ (accessed DATE).

The discrepancy between education-related incidents across pages on the GDS Data Portal is due to differences in data sources, timeframes, or area foci. GCPEA’s materials and data should be referred to as the standard for any numbers of attacks on education and military use.