Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Arab World

Arab World: Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary was 22.6% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
22.6%
Change on year
down 2.0%
Rank
12th
of 43 groups
All-time high
58.5%
in 1971
All-time low
22.6%
in 2019
Years of data
50
1970–2019

Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Arab World, 1970–2019

0204060197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2019, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Arab World stood at 22.6%. That is the lowest value across all 50 years on record.

That represents a change of down 2.0% on the previous year and down 12.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Arab World peaked at 58.5% in 1971 and was at its lowest, 22.6%, in 2019.

Arab World ranks 12th of 43 groups on this measure, 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 children, adolescents and youth of primary in Arab World, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary, lower secondary and upper secondary school age, female (%) in Arab World, 1970 to 2019.
Year % Change
1970 57.5%
1971 58.5% +1.7%
1972 57.0% -2.5%
1973 56.3% -1.4%
1974 55.6% -1.2%
1975 54.3% -2.4%
1976 53.0% -2.3%
1977 52.0% -2.0%
1978 51.5% -1.0%
1979 50.4% -2.0%
1980 48.8% -3.2%
1981 47.9% -1.9%
1982 47.8% -0.2%
1983 47.2% -1.2%
1984 46.7% -1.0%
1985 44.7% -4.3%
1986 44.0% -1.6%
1987 42.5% -3.5%
1988 41.7% -1.8%
1989 41.6% -0.4%
1990 41.0% -1.5%
1991 40.2% -1.9%
1992 42.4% +5.6%
1993 41.6% -2.0%
1994 39.9% -4.1%
1995 40.5% +1.5%
1996 38.4% -5.0%
1997 37.7% -1.9%
1998 36.9% -2.1%
1999 35.3% -4.2%
2000 34.2% -3.2%
2001 32.9% -4.0%
2002 31.7% -3.6%
2003 30.7% -3.2%
2004 29.7% -3.4%
2005 28.6% -3.6%
2006 28.4% -0.8%
2007 27.8% -2.0%
2008 26.8% -3.4%
2009 25.9% -3.6%
2010 24.9% -3.5%
2011 24.5% -1.8%
2012 23.6% -3.4%
2013 24.9% +5.2%
2014 24.8% -0.3%
2015 24.2% -2.3%
2016 23.9% -1.5%
2017 23.6% -1.2%
2018 23.1% -2.2%
2019 22.6% -2.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 54.6% 50.4% 58.5% 10
1980s 45.3% 41.6% 48.8% 10
1990s 39.4% 35.3% 42.4% 10
2000s 29.7% 25.9% 34.2% 10
2010s 24.0% 22.6% 24.9% 10

Countries ranked near Arab World

  1. 9 Ethiopia 36.4% compare
  2. 10 Yemen 35.0% compare
  3. 11 Côte d'Ivoire 31.9% compare
  4. 12 Mauritania 30.1% compare
  5. 13 Guatemala 29.3% compare
  6. 14 Iraq 28.8% compare
  7. 15 Mozambique 28.2% compare

See the full ranking of 180 places →

More reference data data for Arab World

All data for Arab World →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Arab World?
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Arab World was 22.6% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in Arab World?
The highest recorded value was 58.5% in 1971.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in Arab World?
The lowest recorded value was 22.6% in 2019.
How does Arab World rank for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary?
Arab World ranks 12th out of 43 groups with data for 2019.
Is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary rising or falling in Arab World?
Over the last ten years it is down 12.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Arab World data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary, lower secondary and upper secondary school age, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Arab World. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 13 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-children-adolescents-and-youth-of-primary-lower-secondary-and-2/arab-world/

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About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary, lower secondary and upper secondary school age, female (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
180 places, 4,050 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Proportion of children, adolescents, and youth in the official age range for primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary education who are not enrolled in primary, lower secondary, or upper secondary education. To calculate the indicator, the number of students of the official age for primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary education enrolled in primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary education is subtracted from the total population of primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary education. The result is expressed as a percentage of the population of the official age for primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary education. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/