Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Least developed countries

Least developed countries: Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and was 45.38 million number in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
45.38 million number
Change on year
up 1.1%
Rank
14th
of 45 groups
All-time high
52.51 million number
in 1999
All-time low
32.51 million number
in 1970
Years of data
50
1970–2019

Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Least developed countries, 1970–2019

020.0M40.0M60.0M197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.

Analysis

In 2019, out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Least developed countries stood at 45.38 million number.

The figure is up 1.1% on the previous year and up 3.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Least developed countries peaked at 52.51 million number in 1999 and was at its lowest, 32.51 million number, in 1970.

That places Least developed countries 14th out of 45 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.

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

Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Least developed countries, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and secondary school age, female (number) in Least developed countries, 1970 to 2019.
Year number Change
1970 32.51 million number
1971 33.81 million number +4.0%
1972 33.78 million number -0.1%
1973 33.50 million number -0.8%
1974 34.30 million number +2.4%
1975 34.04 million number -0.7%
1976 34.18 million number +0.4%
1977 34.53 million number +1.0%
1978 34.81 million number +0.8%
1979 35.07 million number +0.8%
1980 35.23 million number +0.4%
1981 35.58 million number +1.0%
1982 36.13 million number +1.6%
1983 37.10 million number +2.7%
1984 37.98 million number +2.3%
1985 39.21 million number +3.3%
1986 40.11 million number +2.3%
1987 41.29 million number +2.9%
1988 41.20 million number -0.2%
1989 42.45 million number +3.0%
1990 43.93 million number +3.5%
1991 44.37 million number +1.0%
1992 45.74 million number +3.1%
1993 46.75 million number +2.2%
1994 47.80 million number +2.2%
1995 48.32 million number +1.1%
1996 49.30 million number +2.0%
1997 49.27 million number -0.1%
1998 51.88 million number +5.3%
1999 52.51 million number +1.2%
2000 52.13 million number -0.7%
2001 51.74 million number -0.7%
2002 50.00 million number -3.4%
2003 48.66 million number -2.7%
2004 48.02 million number -1.3%
2005 47.60 million number -0.9%
2006 46.19 million number -3.0%
2007 45.43 million number -1.7%
2008 44.18 million number -2.8%
2009 43.75 million number -1.0%
2010 43.77 million number +0.1%
2011 43.61 million number -0.4%
2012 43.12 million number -1.1%
2013 43.32 million number +0.5%
2014 43.58 million number +0.6%
2015 44.60 million number +2.3%
2016 44.66 million number +0.2%
2017 44.57 million number -0.2%
2018 44.90 million number +0.7%
2019 45.38 million number +1.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 34.05 million number 32.51 million number 35.07 million number 10
1980s 38.63 million number 35.23 million number 42.45 million number 10
1990s 47.99 million number 43.93 million number 52.51 million number 10
2000s 47.77 million number 43.75 million number 52.13 million number 10
2010s 44.15 million number 43.12 million number 45.38 million number 10

Countries ranked near Least developed countries

  1. 11 Syrian Arab Republic 1.11 million number compare
  2. 12 Kenya 1.09 million number compare
  3. 13 Mexico 1.03 million number compare
  4. 14 Cameroon 1.00 million number compare
  5. 15 Myanmar 887,937 number compare
  6. 16 Guinea 842,734 number compare
  7. 17 South Africa 797,795 number compare

See the full ranking of 182 places →

More reference data data for Least developed countries

All data for Least developed countries →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Least developed countries?
Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Least developed countries was 45.38 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 Least developed countries?
The highest recorded value was 52.51 million number in 1999.
What is the lowest out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and recorded in Least developed countries?
The lowest recorded value was 32.51 million number in 1970.
How does Least developed countries rank for out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and?
Least developed countries ranks 14th out of 45 groups with data for 2019.
Is out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and rising or falling in Least developed countries?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Least developed countries 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, female (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 50 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Least developed countries. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 13 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-children-adolescents-and-youth-of-primary-and-secondary-school-age-female/least-developed-countries-un-classification/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-children-adolescents-and-youth-of-primary-and-secondary-school-age-female/least-developed-countries-un-classification/">Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Least developed countries</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and secondary school age, female (number)
Unit
number
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
182 places, 4,161 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/