Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in North America

North America: Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper was 2.4% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
2.4%
Change on year
up 14.8%
Rank
43rd
of 43 groups
All-time high
14.4%
in 1979
All-time low
2.1%
in 2018
Years of data
50
1970–2019

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

2.557.51012.515197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2019, out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in North America stood at 2.4%.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 14.8% on the previous year and down 52.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in North America peaked at 14.4% in 1979 and was at its lowest, 2.1%, in 2018.

North America ranks 43rd of 43 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 rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in North America, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper secondary school age, both sexes (%) in North America, 1970 to 2019.
Year % Change
1970 11.3%
1971 11.3% +0.4%
1972 11.0% -2.9%
1973 11.0% +0.6%
1974 11.1% +0.8%
1975 11.2% +0.6%
1976 11.2% +0.1%
1977 11.2% +0.3%
1978 11.5% +2.2%
1979 14.4% +25.7%
1980 9.2% -36.0%
1981 9.8% +6.1%
1982 8.2% -16.1%
1983 8.0% -2.5%
1984 7.0% -12.5%
1985 7.4% +5.4%
1986 6.9% -6.1%
1987 9.6% +38.5%
1988 7.3% -24.2%
1989 7.8% +6.5%
1990 8.2% +6.1%
1991 8.1% -1.5%
1992 7.0% -14.2%
1993 5.8% -16.7%
1994 5.2% -10.2%
1995 6.1% +17.3%
1996 6.0% -1.1%
1997 6.7% +11.8%
1998 7.5% +11.2%
1999 9.2% +22.2%
2000 8.4% -8.6%
2001 7.1% -15.6%
2002 8.6% +21.9%
2003 6.2% -27.8%
2004 6.4% +2.6%
2005 5.7% -10.2%
2006 6.0% +4.5%
2007 6.0% +0.1%
2008 6.2% +3.7%
2009 5.0% -18.7%
2010 6.0% +18.2%
2011 5.0% -16.3%
2012 4.8% -3.7%
2013 5.0% +2.9%
2014 4.9% -1.6%
2015 3.9% -20.6%
2016 2.7% -29.8%
2017 2.6% -3.1%
2018 2.1% -21.4%
2019 2.4% +14.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 11.5% 11.0% 14.4% 10
1980s 8.1% 6.9% 9.8% 10
1990s 7.0% 5.2% 9.2% 10
2000s 6.6% 5.0% 8.6% 10
2010s 3.9% 2.1% 6.0% 10

Countries ranked near North America

  1. 40 Jamaica 20.2% compare
  2. 41 Cape Verde 20.0% compare
  3. 42 Vanuatu 19.8% compare
  4. 43 Indonesia 19.4% compare
  5. 44 Ghana 19.0% compare
  6. 45 Belize 18.9% compare
  7. 46 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 18.6% compare

See the full ranking of 185 places →

More reference data data for North America

All data for North America →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in North America?
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in North America was 2.4% 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 North America?
The highest recorded value was 14.4% in 1979.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in North America?
The lowest recorded value was 2.1% in 2018.
How does North America rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper?
North America ranks 43rd 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 North America?
Over the last ten years it is down 52.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this North America 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 North America. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-adolescents-and-youth-of-lower-and-upper-secondary-school-age-both/north-america/

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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/