Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in World

World: Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary was 58.45 million number in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
58.45 million number
Change on year
up 0.5%
Rank
1st
of 45 groups
All-time high
91.51 million number
in 1997
All-time low
57.97 million number
in 2017
Years of data
50
1970–2019

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

020.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M100.0M197019942019

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 World is 58.45 million number, measured in 2019.

That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and down 7.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in World peaked at 91.51 million number in 1997 and was at its lowest, 57.97 million number, in 2017.

World ranks 1st of 45 groups on this measure, in the top 10%.

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 World, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, male (number) in World, 1970 to 2019.
Year number Change
1970 73.77 million number
1971 75.76 million number +2.7%
1972 76.62 million number +1.1%
1973 74.45 million number -2.8%
1974 76.15 million number +2.3%
1975 75.19 million number -1.3%
1976 75.18 million number -0.0%
1977 77.85 million number +3.5%
1978 79.58 million number +2.2%
1979 78.95 million number -0.8%
1980 77.50 million number -1.8%
1981 77.18 million number -0.4%
1982 77.11 million number -0.1%
1983 77.87 million number +1.0%
1984 78.93 million number +1.4%
1985 78.81 million number -0.1%
1986 78.10 million number -0.9%
1987 78.09 million number -0.0%
1988 77.38 million number -0.9%
1989 77.20 million number -0.2%
1990 78.08 million number +1.1%
1991 78.58 million number +0.6%
1992 80.57 million number +2.5%
1993 82.09 million number +1.9%
1994 84.36 million number +2.8%
1995 87.08 million number +3.2%
1996 89.16 million number +2.4%
1997 91.51 million number +2.6%
1998 91.33 million number -0.2%
1999 90.18 million number -1.3%
2000 87.63 million number -2.8%
2001 86.32 million number -1.5%
2002 83.71 million number -3.0%
2003 78.67 million number -6.0%
2004 74.33 million number -5.5%
2005 69.91 million number -6.0%
2006 68.89 million number -1.5%
2007 62.04 million number -9.9%
2008 62.24 million number +0.3%
2009 63.13 million number +1.4%
2010 62.27 million number -1.4%
2011 62.86 million number +0.9%
2012 60.76 million number -3.4%
2013 60.16 million number -1.0%
2014 60.25 million number +0.1%
2015 58.90 million number -2.2%
2016 58.04 million number -1.5%
2017 57.97 million number -0.1%
2018 58.13 million number +0.3%
2019 58.45 million number +0.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 76.35 million number 73.77 million number 79.58 million number 10
1980s 77.82 million number 77.11 million number 78.93 million number 10
1990s 85.30 million number 78.08 million number 91.51 million number 10
2000s 73.69 million number 62.04 million number 87.63 million number 10
2010s 59.78 million number 57.97 million number 62.86 million number 10

Countries ranked near World

  1. 1 Ethiopia 3.15 million number compare
  2. 2 Indonesia 1.86 million number compare
  3. 3 Niger 1.15 million number compare
  4. 4 Mali 972,275 number compare

See the full ranking of 193 places →

More reference data data for World

All data for World →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in World?
Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in World was 58.45 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 World?
The highest recorded value was 91.51 million number in 1997.
What is the lowest out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary recorded in World?
The lowest recorded value was 57.97 million number in 2017.
How does World rank for out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary?
World ranks 1st out of 45 groups with data for 2019.
Is out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary rising or falling in World?
Over the last ten years it is down 7.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this World 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, male (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in World. 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-male/world/

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About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, male (number)
Unit
number
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
193 places, 4,440 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/