Millions of refugee children could lose access to education as a deepening funding crisis threatens school programmes, the UN refugee agency warned on Friday.

Some 5.8 million refugee children and young people did not attend school last year, representing 44 percent of the estimated 13.1 million refugee children worldwide, according to UNHCR.

At least two in three refugee children attended primary school, but only one in three had access to secondary education.

However, the number continuing their education beyond secondary school reached a record high, with more than 450,000 refugee students attending universities or vocational education institutions in 2025 for the first time, UNHCR said.

That represented 11 percent of eligible refugee students, up from 9 percent in 2024.