Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Latin America & Caribbean

Latin America & Caribbean: Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper was 13.4% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
13.4%
Change on year
down 2.6%
Rank
30th
of 43 groups
All-time high
28.4%
in 1971
All-time low
13.4%
in 2019
Years of data
50
1970–2019

Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Latin America & Caribbean, 1970–2019

0102030197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Latin America & Caribbean is 13.4%, measured in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 50 years on record.

The figure is down 2.6% on the previous year and down 13.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 28.4% in 1971 and was at its lowest, 13.4%, in 2019.

That places Latin America & Caribbean 30th out of 43 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 rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Latin America & Caribbean, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper secondary school age, both sexes (%) in Latin America & Caribbean, 1970 to 2019.
Year % Change
1970 28.4%
1971 28.4% +0.2%
1972 28.3% -0.4%
1973 27.1% -4.2%
1974 27.7% +2.2%
1975 27.0% -2.6%
1976 25.4% -6.0%
1977 24.7% -2.6%
1978 24.6% -0.7%
1979 24.4% -0.6%
1980 24.1% -1.1%
1981 23.9% -1.1%
1982 23.6% -1.2%
1983 23.1% -1.9%
1984 22.8% -1.6%
1985 22.7% -0.5%
1986 21.9% -3.5%
1987 22.0% +0.5%
1988 22.1% +0.8%
1989 22.3% +0.6%
1990 22.8% +2.3%
1991 22.6% -0.7%
1992 22.4% -1.2%
1993 22.5% +0.4%
1994 22.3% -0.8%
1995 21.7% -2.7%
1996 21.1% -2.7%
1997 20.9% -1.1%
1998 20.5% -1.8%
1999 20.0% -2.5%
2000 19.3% -3.1%
2001 18.7% -3.1%
2002 17.9% -4.6%
2003 18.0% +0.8%
2004 18.1% +0.4%
2005 17.5% -3.3%
2006 17.0% -2.9%
2007 16.7% -1.6%
2008 15.4% -7.6%
2009 15.4% -0.3%
2010 15.1% -1.9%
2011 15.0% -0.5%
2012 15.5% +3.4%
2013 13.7% -11.7%
2014 14.0% +2.0%
2015 14.1% +0.5%
2016 13.8% -2.1%
2017 14.5% +5.5%
2018 13.7% -5.4%
2019 13.4% -2.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 26.6% 24.4% 28.4% 10
1980s 22.8% 21.9% 24.1% 10
1990s 21.7% 20.0% 22.8% 10
2000s 17.4% 15.4% 19.3% 10
2010s 14.3% 13.4% 15.5% 10

Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean

  1. 27 Myanmar 28.3% compare
  2. 28 Panama 27.8% compare
  3. 29 El Salvador 25.6% compare
  4. 30 Malaysia 25.3% compare
  5. 31 Suriname 24.7% compare
  6. 32 Turks and Caicos Islands 24.5% compare
  7. 33 Lesotho 23.9% compare

See the full ranking of 185 places →

More reference data data for Latin America & Caribbean

All data for Latin America & Caribbean →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Latin America & Caribbean?
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Latin America & Caribbean was 13.4% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
The highest recorded value was 28.4% in 1971.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
The lowest recorded value was 13.4% in 2019.
How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper?
Latin America & Caribbean ranks 30th out of 43 groups with data for 2019.
Is out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean?
Over the last ten years it is down 13.2%. 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 rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper secondary school age, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Latin America & Caribbean. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-adolescents-and-youth-of-lower-and-upper-secondary-school-age-both/latin-america-and-caribbean/

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About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper secondary school age, both sexes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
185 places, 4,210 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Number of adolescents and youth of 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/