Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income): Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary was 11.6% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
11.6%
Change on year
down 3.1%
Rank
24th
of 43 groups
All-time high
33.0%
in 1971
All-time low
11.6%
in 2019
Years of data
50
1970–2019

Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income), 1970–2019

0102030197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) is 11.6%, measured in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 50 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.1% on the previous year and down 19.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) peaked at 33.0% in 1971 and was at its lowest, 11.6%, in 2019.

That places Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) 24th 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 children, adolescents and youth of primary in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income), year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary, lower secondary and upper secondary school age, male (%) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income), 1970 to 2019.
Year % Change
1970 32.4%
1971 33.0% +1.8%
1972 31.4% -4.8%
1973 30.6% -2.7%
1974 29.9% -2.2%
1975 28.9% -3.3%
1976 27.3% -5.3%
1977 26.4% -3.6%
1978 26.2% -0.7%
1979 26.1% -0.5%
1980 25.3% -2.7%
1981 25.4% +0.1%
1982 25.1% -0.9%
1983 24.9% -0.9%
1984 24.6% -1.5%
1985 23.8% -3.2%
1986 23.3% -1.9%
1987 22.5% -3.4%
1988 22.3% -1.1%
1989 22.2% -0.3%
1990 21.1% -4.9%
1991 20.6% -2.3%
1992 21.5% +4.3%
1993 21.3% -1.2%
1994 20.7% -2.8%
1995 21.0% +1.7%
1996 20.5% -2.4%
1997 20.2% -1.4%
1998 20.3% +0.4%
1999 19.8% -2.5%
2000 19.2% -3.1%
2001 17.8% -7.4%
2002 17.0% -4.6%
2003 16.8% -1.2%
2004 15.8% -5.7%
2005 15.6% -1.2%
2006 15.9% +1.5%
2007 15.6% -1.5%
2008 15.1% -3.7%
2009 14.4% -4.6%
2010 14.4% +0.2%
2011 13.9% -3.4%
2012 13.0% -6.7%
2013 14.1% +8.6%
2014 13.9% -1.5%
2015 13.6% -1.9%
2016 12.9% -5.1%
2017 12.4% -3.9%
2018 12.0% -3.4%
2019 11.6% -3.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 29.2% 26.1% 33.0% 10
1980s 23.9% 22.2% 25.4% 10
1990s 20.7% 19.8% 21.5% 10
2000s 16.3% 14.4% 19.2% 10
2010s 13.2% 11.6% 14.4% 10

Countries ranked near Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)

  1. 21 Suriname 21.0% compare
  2. 22 Panama 20.8% compare
  3. 23 Cambodia 20.1% compare
  4. 24 El Salvador 19.6% compare
  5. 25 Jamaica 19.1% compare
  6. 26 Cameroon 18.9% compare
  7. 27 British Virgin Islands 17.8% compare

See the full ranking of 179 places →

More reference data data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)

All data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) was 11.6% 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
The highest recorded value was 33.0% in 1971.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
The lowest recorded value was 11.6% in 2019.
How does Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) rank for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary?
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) ranks 24th out of 43 groups with data for 2019.
Is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary rising or falling in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
Over the last ten years it is down 19.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) 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, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 50 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income). Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 18 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-children-adolescents-and-youth-of-primary-lower-secondary-and-4/middle-east-north-africa-afghanistan-and-pakistan-excluding-high-income/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-children-adolescents-and-youth-of-primary-lower-secondary-and-4/middle-east-north-africa-afghanistan-and-pakistan-excluding-high-income/">Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary, lower secondary and upper secondary school age, male (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
179 places, 4,045 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/