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 2.3% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
2.3%
Change on year
up 3.1%
Rank
43rd
of 43 groups
All-time high
13.4%
in 1979
All-time low
2.3%
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

2.557.51012.5197019942019

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 2.3%.

That represents a change of up 3.1% on the previous year and down 58.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in North America peaked at 13.4% in 1979 and was at its lowest, 2.3%, 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, male (%) in North America, 1970 to 2019.
Year % Change
1970 10.5%
1971 10.6% +0.3%
1972 10.3% -2.8%
1973 10.4% +0.7%
1974 10.5% +0.9%
1975 10.5% +0.6%
1976 10.5% +0.1%
1977 10.5% +0.1%
1978 10.7% +1.9%
1979 13.4% +25.1%
1980 8.6% -35.9%
1981 9.1% +5.5%
1982 7.6% -16.0%
1983 7.4% -2.5%
1984 6.5% -12.5%
1985 6.9% +5.3%
1986 6.5% -5.9%
1987 9.6% +48.9%
1988 6.8% -29.1%
1989 7.3% +6.7%
1990 7.7% +6.3%
1991 7.6% -1.4%
1992 6.6% -14.0%
1993 5.5% -16.5%
1994 4.7% -14.6%
1995 5.7% +21.1%
1996 5.6% -0.9%
1997 6.5% +16.6%
1998 7.5% +15.0%
1999 9.4% +24.7%
2000 8.4% -10.5%
2001 7.7% -8.5%
2002 8.8% +14.6%
2003 6.3% -28.0%
2004 6.1% -4.2%
2005 6.2% +2.0%
2006 6.8% +9.2%
2007 6.1% -9.2%
2008 6.2% +0.3%
2009 5.5% -10.1%
2010 5.9% +6.2%
2011 5.5% -7.0%
2012 5.1% -6.3%
2013 5.2% +0.6%
2014 5.4% +5.2%
2015 4.6% -15.9%
2016 2.8% -39.0%
2017 2.8% -1.1%
2018 2.3% -17.9%
2019 2.3% +3.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 10.8% 10.3% 13.4% 10
1980s 7.6% 6.5% 9.6% 10
1990s 6.7% 4.7% 9.4% 10
2000s 6.8% 5.5% 8.8% 10
2010s 4.2% 2.3% 5.9% 10

Countries ranked near North America

  1. 40 Indonesia 20.9% compare
  2. 41 Republic of Moldova 20.6% compare
  3. 42 Ghana 20.1% compare
  4. 43 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 19.9% compare
  5. 44 Timor-Leste 19.3% compare
  6. 45 Namibia 19.2% compare
  7. 46 South Africa 19.1% compare

See the full ranking of 181 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 2.3% 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 13.4% 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 2.3% 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 58.0%. 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, male (%). 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 15 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-adolescents-and-youth-of-lower-and-upper-secondary-school-age-male/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, male (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
181 places, 4,095 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/