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 13.4% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
13.4%
Change on year
down 3.2%
Rank
22nd
of 43 groups
All-time high
44.6%
in 1971
All-time low
13.4%
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

10203040197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) recorded 13.4% 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.

The figure is down 3.2% on the previous year and down 21.2% 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 44.6% in 1971 and was at its lowest, 13.4%, in 2019.

That places Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) 22nd 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, both sexes (%) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income), 1970 to 2019.
Year % Change
1970 43.8%
1971 44.6% +1.8%
1972 42.4% -5.0%
1973 41.4% -2.4%
1974 40.5% -2.1%
1975 38.7% -4.3%
1976 37.0% -4.6%
1977 35.6% -3.5%
1978 35.3% -1.1%
1979 35.3% +0.2%
1980 34.0% -3.6%
1981 34.0% -0.2%
1982 33.5% -1.3%
1983 33.2% -1.1%
1984 32.7% -1.3%
1985 31.3% -4.3%
1986 30.7% -2.2%
1987 29.4% -4.1%
1988 28.8% -2.1%
1989 28.5% -0.9%
1990 27.3% -4.4%
1991 26.5% -2.9%
1992 27.8% +5.1%
1993 27.3% -2.0%
1994 26.2% -3.9%
1995 26.7% +2.0%
1996 25.6% -4.4%
1997 25.2% -1.5%
1998 25.0% -0.7%
1999 24.3% -3.0%
2000 23.4% -3.4%
2001 22.0% -6.3%
2002 20.7% -5.5%
2003 20.3% -2.3%
2004 19.3% -4.6%
2005 19.0% -1.9%
2006 19.0% +0.3%
2007 18.6% -2.2%
2008 17.9% -3.9%
2009 17.0% -5.0%
2010 16.8% -1.5%
2011 16.0% -4.8%
2012 14.9% -6.4%
2013 16.2% +8.6%
2014 16.0% -1.5%
2015 15.7% -2.0%
2016 14.9% -4.9%
2017 14.3% -3.8%
2018 13.8% -3.3%
2019 13.4% -3.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 39.5% 35.3% 44.6% 10
1980s 31.6% 28.5% 34.0% 10
1990s 26.2% 24.3% 27.8% 10
2000s 19.7% 17.0% 23.4% 10
2010s 15.2% 13.4% 16.8% 10

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

  1. 19 Laos 23.2% compare
  2. 20 Cameroon 23.1% compare
  3. 21 Cambodia 22.4% compare
  4. 22 Iraq 21.4% compare
  5. 23 Panama 20.3% compare
  6. 24 Puerto Rico 20.1% compare
  7. 25 El Salvador 19.8% compare

See the full ranking of 182 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 13.4% 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 44.6% 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 13.4% 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 22nd 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 21.2%. 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, both sexes (%). 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/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/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, 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/