Attacks on Education Dataset

This dataset is provided by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) from its Education under Attack database which monitors attacks on schools, universities, students, and educators, by armed forces and armed groups, as well as military use of educational institutions. 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 database is used to publish GCPEA’s Education under Attack report series. The dataset presented here covers attacks on education from 2020 through 2023. For more information about GCPEA’s methodology and the Education under Attack series, see Education under Attack 2024.

GCPEA collected over 1,000 reports of attacks on education from 2020 through 2023, with Ituri, North Kivu, Mai-Ndombe, and Tanganyika provinces particularly affected. Armed groups reportedly recruited or used students at or near schools, and GCPEA collected reports of sexual violence by armed groups at schools. Educational facilities were also used for military purposes.

1,256

Attacks recorded
in 2020 & 2021 & 2022 & 2023

307

Students and educators harmed

Administrative regions affected

Democratic Republic of the Congo

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

Attacks on students and staff

Attacks on higher education

Military use of schools or universities

These numbers do not add up to the total number of attacks on education, because some attacks are reported as tallies that include more than one attack type and so cannot be broken down. Coverage of certain attack types may be more robust than others due to underreporting and variability in media and non-governmental organization reporting.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Location of attacks

1256 attacks in Democratic Republic of the Congo

Number of attacks in region

+1150 attacks from unspecified administrative region

Some attacks on education and military use cases are reported as tallies which do not specify the administrative unit where the incidents occurred. Such incidents are marked as unspecified.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Timeline of attacks

Slide to see more

2020

+415 attacks (months unspecified)

2021

+278 attacks (months unspecified)

2022

+155 attacks (months unspecified)

2023

+301 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 and so do not appear in the above graph.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Individuals Harmed

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

10 students or educators harmed

Fewer than 10 students or educators harmed

TOTAL REPORTED HARMED

307

GIRLS OR WOMEN REPORTED HARMED

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.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Educational facilities damaged

Schools and Universities damaged or destroyed

One school or university damaged

Total

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.

Source: GCPEA, Education under Attack 2022 (New York: Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, 2022), accessed August 1, 2022; GCPEA, Education under Attack 2024 (New York: Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, 2024), accessed August 1, 2024. The discrepancy between education-related incidents across pages on the TRACE 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. The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.