Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in European Union

European Union: Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary was 1.01 million number in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
1.01 million number
Change on year
up 0.1%
Rank
38th
of 45 groups
All-time high
2.85 million number
in 1973
All-time low
769,327 number
in 2005
Years of data
50
1970–2019

Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in European Union, 1970–2019

1.0M1.5M2.0M2.5M3.0M197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.

Analysis

The most recent figure for out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in European Union is 1.01 million number, measured in 2019.

That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 2.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in European Union peaked at 2.85 million number in 1973 and was at its lowest, 769,327 number, in 2005.

European Union ranks 38th of 45 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

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

Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in European Union, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, both sexes (number) in European Union, 1970 to 2019.
Year number Change
1970 2.28 million number
1971 2.38 million number +4.5%
1972 2.48 million number +3.9%
1973 2.85 million number +15.2%
1974 2.61 million number -8.5%
1975 2.63 million number +0.7%
1976 2.73 million number +3.8%
1977 2.48 million number -9.0%
1978 2.44 million number -1.6%
1979 2.35 million number -3.7%
1980 2.21 million number -6.2%
1981 2.32 million number +5.3%
1982 2.26 million number -2.6%
1983 2.36 million number +4.3%
1984 2.36 million number +0.1%
1985 2.40 million number +1.8%
1986 2.34 million number -2.6%
1987 2.11 million number -9.8%
1988 2.10 million number -0.8%
1989 2.11 million number +0.7%
1990 2.18 million number +3.4%
1991 2.24 million number +2.8%
1992 2.34 million number +4.3%
1993 2.15 million number -7.9%
1994 1.87 million number -13.2%
1995 1.72 million number -7.8%
1996 1.58 million number -8.4%
1997 1.44 million number -8.7%
1998 909,248 number -36.9%
1999 1.06 million number +16.8%
2000 1.02 million number -3.9%
2001 1.02 million number +0.2%
2002 1.12 million number +9.9%
2003 1.09 million number -2.9%
2004 1.08 million number -1.1%
2005 769,327 number -28.7%
2006 841,851 number +9.4%
2007 1.04 million number +23.4%
2008 968,788 number -6.7%
2009 986,482 number +1.8%
2010 953,845 number -3.3%
2011 1.03 million number +8.2%
2012 1.01 million number -1.8%
2013 897,138 number -11.5%
2014 1.01 million number +12.6%
2015 912,427 number -9.7%
2016 901,996 number -1.1%
2017 948,349 number +5.1%
2018 1.01 million number +6.5%
2019 1.01 million number +0.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 2.52 million number 2.28 million number 2.85 million number 10
1980s 2.26 million number 2.10 million number 2.40 million number 10
1990s 1.75 million number 909,248 number 2.34 million number 10
2000s 994,093 number 769,327 number 1.12 million number 10
2010s 969,112 number 897,138 number 1.03 million number 10

Countries ranked near European Union

  1. 35 Egypt 218,514 number compare
  2. 36 Malaysia 216,258 number compare
  3. 37 Romania 209,323 number compare
  4. 38 Ukraine 207,725 number compare
  5. 39 Cambodia 202,107 number compare
  6. 40 Thailand 197,452 number compare
  7. 41 Morocco 186,968 number compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More reference data data for European Union

All data for European Union →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in European Union?
Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in European Union was 1.01 million number in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary recorded in European Union?
The highest recorded value was 2.85 million number in 1973.
What is the lowest out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary recorded in European Union?
The lowest recorded value was 769,327 number in 2005.
How does European Union rank for out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary?
European Union ranks 38th out of 45 groups with data for 2019.
Is out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary rising or falling in European Union?
Over the last ten years it is up 2.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this European Union data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, both sexes (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 and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in European Union. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 11 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-children-and-adolescents-of-primary-and-lower-secondary-school-age-both/european-union/

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-and-adolescents-of-primary-and-lower-secondary-school-age-both/european-union/">Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in European Union</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, both sexes (number)
Unit
number
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
194 places, 4,726 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Number of children and adolescents of primary and lower 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/