Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Latin America & Caribbean

Latin America & Caribbean: Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and was 10.43 million number in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
10.43 million number
Change on year
down 2.9%
Rank
29th
of 45 groups
All-time high
18.72 million number
in 1975
All-time low
10.43 million number
in 2019
Years of data
50
1970–2019

Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Latin America & Caribbean, 1970–2019

05.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.

Analysis

Latin America & Caribbean recorded 10.43 million number for out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 50 years on record.

The figure is down 2.9% on the previous year and down 13.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 18.72 million number in 1975 and was at its lowest, 10.43 million number, in 2019.

That places Latin America & Caribbean 29th out of 45 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 50 years of available data.

Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Latin America & Caribbean, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and secondary school age, both sexes (number) in Latin America & Caribbean, 1970 to 2019.
Year number Change
1970 18.02 million number
1971 18.39 million number +2.1%
1972 18.60 million number +1.1%
1973 18.23 million number -2.0%
1974 18.69 million number +2.5%
1975 18.72 million number +0.2%
1976 18.07 million number -3.5%
1977 17.65 million number -2.3%
1978 17.58 million number -0.4%
1979 17.05 million number -3.1%
1980 16.99 million number -0.3%
1981 16.55 million number -2.6%
1982 16.57 million number +0.1%
1983 16.56 million number -0.1%
1984 16.69 million number +0.8%
1985 16.64 million number -0.3%
1986 16.58 million number -0.3%
1987 16.87 million number +1.7%
1988 17.42 million number +3.3%
1989 18.21 million number +4.5%
1990 18.53 million number +1.7%
1991 18.53 million number +0.0%
1992 18.16 million number -2.0%
1993 18.25 million number +0.5%
1994 18.67 million number +2.3%
1995 18.56 million number -0.6%
1996 18.07 million number -2.6%
1997 18.45 million number +2.1%
1998 16.72 million number -9.4%
1999 15.47 million number -7.5%
2000 15.02 million number -2.9%
2001 14.50 million number -3.5%
2002 13.95 million number -3.8%
2003 13.97 million number +0.1%
2004 14.14 million number +1.2%
2005 13.48 million number -4.7%
2006 13.45 million number -0.3%
2007 12.81 million number -4.8%
2008 11.95 million number -6.7%
2009 12.03 million number +0.7%
2010 11.96 million number -0.6%
2011 11.99 million number +0.3%
2012 12.42 million number +3.6%
2013 11.20 million number -9.8%
2014 11.55 million number +3.1%
2015 11.47 million number -0.7%
2016 11.20 million number -2.4%
2017 11.56 million number +3.2%
2018 10.74 million number -7.1%
2019 10.43 million number -2.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 18.10 million number 17.05 million number 18.72 million number 10
1980s 16.91 million number 16.55 million number 18.21 million number 10
1990s 17.94 million number 15.47 million number 18.67 million number 10
2000s 13.53 million number 11.95 million number 15.02 million number 10
2010s 11.45 million number 10.43 million number 12.42 million number 10

Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean

  1. 26 Malaysia 821,680 number compare
  2. 27 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 806,026 number compare
  3. 28 Ghana 760,252 number compare
  4. 29 Jordan 705,567 number compare
  5. 30 Morocco 682,493 number compare
  6. 31 Colombia 635,516 number compare
  7. 32 United States of America 634,451 number compare

See the full ranking of 184 places →

More reference data data for Latin America & Caribbean

All data for Latin America & Caribbean →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Latin America & Caribbean?
Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Latin America & Caribbean was 10.43 million number in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
The highest recorded value was 18.72 million number in 1975.
What is the lowest out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
The lowest recorded value was 10.43 million number in 2019.
How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and?
Latin America & Caribbean ranks 29th out of 45 groups with data for 2019.
Is out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean?
Over the last ten years it is down 13.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Latin America & Caribbean data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and secondary school age, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Latin America & Caribbean. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 16 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-children-adolescents-and-youth-of-primary-and-secondary-school-age-both/latin-america-and-caribbean/

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About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and secondary school age, both sexes (number)
Unit
number
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
184 places, 4,255 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Number of children, adolescents, and youth of primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary school age who are not enrolled or attending school during in a given academic year. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/