Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)

Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries): Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary was 33.2% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
33.2%
Change on year
down 2.1%
Rank
6th
of 43 groups
All-time high
67.2%
in 1970
All-time low
33.2%
in 2019
Years of data
50
1970–2019

Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), 1970–2019

0204060197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) recorded 33.2% for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 50 years on record.

That represents a change of down 2.1% on the previous year and down 11.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) peaked at 67.2% in 1970 and was at its lowest, 33.2%, in 2019.

Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 6th of 43 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.

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 Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), 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 Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), 1970 to 2019.
Year % Change
1970 67.2%
1971 67.0% -0.3%
1972 66.4% -0.9%
1973 65.6% -1.1%
1974 64.6% -1.5%
1975 63.6% -1.5%
1976 62.9% -1.1%
1977 61.5% -2.3%
1978 59.7% -2.8%
1979 57.7% -3.4%
1980 56.2% -2.6%
1981 54.6% -2.8%
1982 53.0% -2.9%
1983 52.9% -0.2%
1984 53.1% +0.3%
1985 53.7% +1.1%
1986 55.3% +3.0%
1987 55.8% +0.9%
1988 56.1% +0.6%
1989 56.3% +0.4%
1990 56.6% +0.6%
1991 56.0% -1.0%
1992 56.5% +0.8%
1993 56.2% -0.5%
1994 56.3% +0.2%
1995 55.9% -0.7%
1996 56.7% +1.4%
1997 55.0% -3.0%
1998 54.0% -1.7%
1999 53.1% -1.7%
2000 51.6% -3.0%
2001 50.1% -2.9%
2002 48.6% -2.9%
2003 46.7% -4.0%
2004 44.9% -3.8%
2005 43.2% -3.9%
2006 41.5% -3.8%
2007 40.2% -3.1%
2008 38.6% -4.2%
2009 37.4% -3.1%
2010 36.7% -1.8%
2011 35.8% -2.5%
2012 35.2% -1.7%
2013 34.7% -1.4%
2014 34.4% -0.8%
2015 34.5% +0.2%
2016 34.0% -1.6%
2017 33.4% -1.5%
2018 33.9% +1.4%
2019 33.2% -2.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 63.6% 57.7% 67.2% 10
1980s 54.7% 52.9% 56.3% 10
1990s 55.6% 53.1% 56.7% 10
2000s 44.3% 37.4% 51.6% 10
2010s 34.6% 33.2% 36.7% 10

Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)

  1. 3 Mali 54.1% compare
  2. 4 Eritrea 48.2% compare
  3. 5 Djibouti 48.2% compare
  4. 6 Guinea 46.1% compare
  5. 7 Syrian Arab Republic 41.8% compare
  6. 8 Burkina Faso 37.1% compare
  7. 9 Ethiopia 36.4% compare

See the full ranking of 180 places →

More reference data data for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)

All data for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) was 33.2% 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 Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
The highest recorded value was 67.2% in 1970.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
The lowest recorded value was 33.2% in 2019.
How does Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) rank for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary?
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 6th out of 43 groups with data for 2019.
Is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
Over the last ten years it is down 11.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) 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 Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries). Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 16 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-children-adolescents-and-youth-of-primary-lower-secondary-and-2/sub-saharan-africa-ida-and-ibrd-countries/

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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/