Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan: Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and was 11.94 million number in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
11.94 million number
Change on year
down 0.9%
Rank
26th
of 45 groups
All-time high
22.62 million number
in 1995
All-time low
11.94 million number
in 2019
Years of data
50
1970–2019

Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, 1970–2019

05.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M25.0M197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.

Analysis

In 2019, out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan stood at 11.94 million number. That is the lowest value across all 50 years on record.

That represents a change of down 0.9% on the previous year and down 17.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan peaked at 22.62 million number in 1995 and was at its lowest, 11.94 million number, in 2019.

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan ranks 26th of 45 groups on this measure, 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and secondary school age, both sexes (number) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, 1970 to 2019.
Year number Change
1970 17.92 million number
1971 18.71 million number +4.4%
1972 18.20 million number -2.7%
1973 18.30 million number +0.5%
1974 18.45 million number +0.8%
1975 18.22 million number -1.3%
1976 17.93 million number -1.6%
1977 17.82 million number -0.7%
1978 18.41 million number +3.4%
1979 19.22 million number +4.4%
1980 18.82 million number -2.1%
1981 19.31 million number +2.6%
1982 19.60 million number +1.5%
1983 19.93 million number +1.7%
1984 20.27 million number +1.7%
1985 20.06 million number -1.0%
1986 20.24 million number +0.9%
1987 20.09 million number -0.8%
1988 20.33 million number +1.2%
1989 20.68 million number +1.7%
1990 20.22 million number -2.2%
1991 20.38 million number +0.8%
1992 21.98 million number +7.9%
1993 22.07 million number +0.4%
1994 21.80 million number -1.2%
1995 22.62 million number +3.7%
1996 22.08 million number -2.4%
1997 22.11 million number +0.1%
1998 22.17 million number +0.3%
1999 21.65 million number -2.4%
2000 20.99 million number -3.0%
2001 19.73 million number -6.0%
2002 18.65 million number -5.5%
2003 18.14 million number -2.7%
2004 17.23 million number -5.1%
2005 17.07 million number -0.9%
2006 16.92 million number -0.9%
2007 16.47 million number -2.6%
2008 15.64 million number -5.0%
2009 14.55 million number -7.0%
2010 14.01 million number -3.7%
2011 13.24 million number -5.5%
2012 12.28 million number -7.2%
2013 13.38 million number +8.9%
2014 13.20 million number -1.4%
2015 12.81 million number -2.9%
2016 12.44 million number -2.9%
2017 12.30 million number -1.1%
2018 12.05 million number -2.1%
2019 11.94 million number -0.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 18.32 million number 17.82 million number 19.22 million number 10
1980s 19.93 million number 18.82 million number 20.68 million number 10
1990s 21.71 million number 20.22 million number 22.62 million number 10
2000s 17.54 million number 14.55 million number 20.99 million number 10
2010s 12.76 million number 11.94 million number 14.01 million number 10

Countries ranked near Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan

  1. 23 Malawi 971,976 number compare
  2. 24 Cambodia 885,901 number compare
  3. 25 Burundi 837,733 number compare
  4. 26 Malaysia 821,680 number compare
  5. 27 Venezuela 806,026 number compare
  6. 28 Ghana 760,252 number compare
  7. 29 Jordan 705,567 number compare

See the full ranking of 184 places →

More reference data data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan

All data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan was 11.94 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
The highest recorded value was 22.62 million number in 1995.
What is the lowest out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
The lowest recorded value was 11.94 million number in 2019.
How does Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan rank for out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and?
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan ranks 26th out of 45 groups with data for 2019.
Is out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and rising or falling in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
Over the last ten years it is down 17.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 18 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-children-adolescents-and-youth-of-primary-and-secondary-school-age-both/middle-east-north-africa-afghanistan-and-pakistan/

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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/