Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in East Asia & Pacific

East Asia & Pacific: Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary was 9.0% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
9.0%
Change on year
down 1.1%
Rank
28th
of 43 groups
All-time high
32.1%
in 1970
All-time low
9.0%
in 2019
Years of data
50
1970–2019

Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in East Asia & Pacific, 1970–2019

1015202530197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2019, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in East Asia & Pacific stood at 9.0%. That is the lowest value across all 50 years on record.

That represents a change of down 1.1% on the previous year and down 20.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in East Asia & Pacific peaked at 32.1% in 1970 and was at its lowest, 9.0%, in 2019.

East Asia & Pacific ranks 28th 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 East Asia & Pacific, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary, lower secondary and upper secondary school age, both sexes (%) in East Asia & Pacific, 1970 to 2019.
Year % Change
1970 32.1%
1971 31.1% -3.3%
1972 29.8% -4.2%
1973 26.4% -11.2%
1974 26.4% -0.1%
1975 24.7% -6.5%
1976 23.2% -6.0%
1977 23.9% +3.1%
1978 25.8% +7.8%
1979 26.0% +1.0%
1980 26.7% +2.6%
1981 27.0% +1.2%
1982 28.0% +3.4%
1983 28.7% +2.8%
1984 29.2% +1.4%
1985 28.1% -3.6%
1986 27.1% -3.4%
1987 25.5% -6.1%
1988 25.1% -1.6%
1989 24.8% -1.2%
1990 24.8% -0.0%
1991 24.0% -3.0%
1992 23.1% -3.8%
1993 22.3% -3.5%
1994 21.9% -1.9%
1995 21.5% -2.0%
1996 20.6% -4.2%
1997 20.3% -1.3%
1998 19.0% -6.5%
1999 17.8% -6.1%
2000 17.8% +0.2%
2001 17.9% +0.1%
2002 17.6% -1.7%
2003 16.9% -3.5%
2004 15.9% -6.2%
2005 15.9% -0.2%
2006 15.5% -1.9%
2007 13.5% -13.4%
2008 12.6% -6.8%
2009 11.3% -10.1%
2010 10.5% -6.8%
2011 9.9% -5.8%
2012 10.0% +0.5%
2013 10.1% +1.2%
2014 9.9% -1.4%
2015 9.7% -2.0%
2016 9.6% -1.1%
2017 9.3% -3.6%
2018 9.1% -2.3%
2019 9.0% -1.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 26.9% 23.2% 32.1% 10
1980s 27.0% 24.8% 29.2% 10
1990s 21.5% 17.8% 24.8% 10
2000s 15.5% 11.3% 17.9% 10
2010s 9.7% 9.0% 10.5% 10

Countries ranked near East Asia & Pacific

  1. 25 El Salvador 19.8% compare
  2. 26 Jamaica 18.6% compare
  3. 27 Suriname 18.1% compare
  4. 28 British Virgin Islands 17.4% compare
  5. 29 Republic of Moldova 17.1% compare
  6. 30 Myanmar 16.8% compare
  7. 31 Malawi 16.6% compare

See the full ranking of 182 places →

More reference data data for East Asia & Pacific

All data for East Asia & Pacific →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in East Asia & Pacific?
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in East Asia & Pacific was 9.0% 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 East Asia & Pacific?
The highest recorded value was 32.1% in 1970.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in East Asia & Pacific?
The lowest recorded value was 9.0% in 2019.
How does East Asia & Pacific rank for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary?
East Asia & Pacific ranks 28th out of 43 groups with data for 2019.
Is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary rising or falling in East Asia & Pacific?
Over the last ten years it is down 20.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this East Asia & Pacific 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, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in East Asia & Pacific. 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/east-asia-and-pacific/

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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, both sexes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
182 places, 4,144 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/