Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Low & middle income

Low & middle income: Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary was 18.6% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
18.6%
Change on year
down 0.7%
Rank
14th
of 43 groups
All-time high
39.8%
in 1970
All-time low
18.6%
in 2019
Years of data
50
1970–2019

Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Low & middle income, 1970–2019

010203040197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

Low & middle income recorded 18.6% 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 0.7% on the previous year and down 15.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Low & middle income peaked at 39.8% in 1970 and was at its lowest, 18.6%, in 2019.

That places Low & middle income 14th 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 Low & middle 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, both sexes (%) in Low & middle income, 1970 to 2019.
Year % Change
1970 39.8%
1971 39.4% -1.2%
1972 38.5% -2.2%
1973 36.6% -5.1%
1974 36.5% -0.3%
1975 35.4% -2.9%
1976 34.5% -2.5%
1977 34.1% -1.2%
1978 34.8% +2.0%
1979 34.6% -0.4%
1980 34.6% -0.1%
1981 34.4% -0.5%
1982 34.6% +0.5%
1983 34.6% +0.1%
1984 34.6% -0.1%
1985 34.2% -1.3%
1986 33.7% -1.2%
1987 33.4% -1.1%
1988 33.1% -0.9%
1989 32.8% -0.8%
1990 32.8% -0.0%
1991 32.3% -1.5%
1992 32.0% -1.0%
1993 31.5% -1.7%
1994 31.2% -0.8%
1995 31.1% -0.5%
1996 30.7% -1.3%
1997 30.3% -1.1%
1998 30.2% -0.5%
1999 29.7% -1.6%
2000 29.1% -2.1%
2001 28.8% -0.9%
2002 28.2% -2.3%
2003 26.8% -4.9%
2004 25.6% -4.5%
2005 24.9% -2.5%
2006 24.4% -2.1%
2007 23.0% -5.8%
2008 22.2% -3.3%
2009 21.9% -1.6%
2010 21.2% -3.2%
2011 20.7% -2.2%
2012 20.2% -2.1%
2013 19.8% -2.3%
2014 19.7% -0.4%
2015 19.4% -1.6%
2016 19.1% -1.5%
2017 18.8% -1.7%
2018 18.7% -0.4%
2019 18.6% -0.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 36.4% 34.1% 39.8% 10
1980s 34.0% 32.8% 34.6% 10
1990s 31.2% 29.7% 32.8% 10
2000s 25.5% 21.9% 29.1% 10
2010s 19.6% 18.6% 21.2% 10

Countries ranked near Low & middle income

  1. 11 Guatemala 28.3% compare
  2. 12 Yemen 28.1% compare
  3. 13 Côte d'Ivoire 27.8% compare
  4. 14 Honduras 27.6% compare
  5. 15 Bahamas 27.4% compare
  6. 16 Jordan 26.3% compare
  7. 17 Burundi 25.4% compare

See the full ranking of 182 places →

More reference data data for Low & middle income

All data for Low & middle income →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Low & middle income?
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Low & middle income was 18.6% 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 Low & middle income?
The highest recorded value was 39.8% in 1970.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in Low & middle income?
The lowest recorded value was 18.6% in 2019.
How does Low & middle income rank for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary?
Low & middle income ranks 14th out of 43 groups with data for 2019.
Is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary rising or falling in Low & middle income?
Over the last ten years it is down 15.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Low & middle 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, 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 Low & middle income. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-children-adolescents-and-youth-of-primary-lower-secondary-and/low-and-middle-income/

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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/