Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in World

World: Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary was 16.9% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
16.9%
Change on year
down 0.7%
Rank
16th
of 43 groups
All-time high
35.0%
in 1970
All-time low
16.9%
in 2019
Years of data
50
1970–2019

Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in World, 1970–2019

010203040197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2019, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in World stood at 16.9%. 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 World peaked at 35.0% in 1970 and was at its lowest, 16.9%, in 2019.

World ranks 16th 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 World, 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 World, 1970 to 2019.
Year % Change
1970 35.0%
1971 34.8% -0.5%
1972 34.2% -1.9%
1973 32.6% -4.6%
1974 32.5% -0.3%
1975 31.7% -2.6%
1976 31.0% -2.3%
1977 30.7% -0.9%
1978 31.3% +2.1%
1979 31.3% +0.0%
1980 31.0% -1.0%
1981 30.9% -0.3%
1982 31.0% +0.3%
1983 31.2% +0.4%
1984 31.2% +0.2%
1985 30.9% -1.1%
1986 30.5% -1.3%
1987 30.2% -1.1%
1988 29.9% -1.0%
1989 29.7% -0.6%
1990 29.7% +0.0%
1991 29.3% -1.3%
1992 29.0% -0.9%
1993 28.5% -1.8%
1994 28.2% -0.9%
1995 28.1% -0.4%
1996 27.8% -1.2%
1997 27.6% -0.8%
1998 27.4% -0.6%
1999 27.0% -1.6%
2000 26.4% -2.1%
2001 26.1% -1.1%
2002 25.6% -2.1%
2003 24.3% -5.0%
2004 23.3% -4.3%
2005 22.6% -2.7%
2006 22.2% -2.1%
2007 20.9% -5.7%
2008 20.2% -3.3%
2009 19.9% -1.6%
2010 19.3% -3.1%
2011 18.9% -2.0%
2012 18.5% -2.1%
2013 18.1% -2.3%
2014 18.0% -0.4%
2015 17.7% -1.8%
2016 17.4% -1.7%
2017 17.1% -1.5%
2018 17.0% -0.3%
2019 16.9% -0.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 32.5% 30.7% 35.0% 10
1980s 30.6% 29.7% 31.2% 10
1990s 28.3% 27.0% 29.7% 10
2000s 23.2% 19.9% 26.4% 10
2010s 17.9% 16.9% 19.3% 10

Countries ranked near World

  1. 13 Côte d'Ivoire 27.8% compare
  2. 14 Honduras 27.6% compare
  3. 15 Bahamas 27.4% compare
  4. 16 Jordan 26.3% compare
  5. 17 Burundi 25.4% compare
  6. 18 Mozambique 24.9% compare
  7. 19 Lao People's Democratic Republic 23.2% compare

See the full ranking of 182 places →

More reference data data for World

All data for World →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in World?
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in World was 16.9% 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 World?
The highest recorded value was 35.0% in 1970.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in World?
The lowest recorded value was 16.9% in 2019.
How does World rank for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary?
World ranks 16th out of 43 groups with data for 2019.
Is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary rising or falling in World?
Over the last ten years it is down 15.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this World 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 World. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 11 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-children-adolescents-and-youth-of-primary-lower-secondary-and/world/

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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/