Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso's education system is the ninth worst globally, crippled by extremist violence that has shuttered over 6,000 schools since 2019—more than any other nation on this list. This collapse has displaced 1.5 million students, reversing a decade of enrollment gains that once reached 70% primary attendance. Compared to #10 Haiti, where disruption stems from chronic instability, Burkina Faso faces a more acute crisis: outright destruction of infrastructure by armed groups. With 1 in 4 schools now closed, literacy rates have stalled at 41%, lagging 20% behind the average Sub-Saharan African nation. The government's inability to secure rural areas means that even when schools reopen, teacher shortages exceed 30%, deepening the educational emergency.