^aValues have been rounded up; ^bData were obtained from the UNESCO COVID-19 Education Response database (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2022). Closed due to COVID-19 – “government-mandated closures of educational institutions affecting most or all of the student population”; partially open – “open in certain regions and closed in others; and/or open for some grades, levels or age groups and closed for others; and/or open with reduced in-person class time, combined with distance learning (hybrid approach)”; fully open – “schools are open and deliver classes exclusively face-to-face for most or all of the student population”. The information in brackets denotes the availability of distance learning modalities in the country. ^cData were obtained from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (Hale et al., 2021; Mathieu et al., 2020). Where both country-wide and regional (e.g. state-specific) policies existed, the strictest policy was recorded. Recommended – recommended not to leave the house; required – required not to leave the house except for activities deemed “essential” such as grocery shopping and daily exercise. Income support is recorded when it is provided at the country or state level. ^dThe South African Government issued an ordinance that moved the country to an Alert Level 1 from 20 September 2020