Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Least developed countries

Least developed countries: Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower was 23.5% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
23.5%
Change on year
down 0.7%
Rank
8th
of 43 groups
All-time high
64.9%
in 1971
All-time low
23.5%
in 2019
Years of data
50
1970–2019

Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Least developed countries, 1970–2019

0204060197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2019, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Least developed countries stood at 23.5%. That is the lowest value across all 50 years on record.

The figure is down 0.7% on the previous year and down 16.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Least developed countries peaked at 64.9% in 1971 and was at its lowest, 23.5%, in 2019.

That places Least developed countries 8th out of 43 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 50 years of available data.

Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Least developed countries, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, female (%) in Least developed countries, 1970 to 2019.
Year % Change
1970 63.4%
1971 64.9% +2.2%
1972 62.8% -3.1%
1973 60.2% -4.2%
1974 60.1% -0.2%
1975 57.8% -3.8%
1976 56.2% -2.7%
1977 55.6% -1.1%
1978 54.6% -1.8%
1979 53.7% -1.7%
1980 52.6% -2.1%
1981 51.8% -1.6%
1982 52.2% +0.8%
1983 52.6% +0.8%
1984 52.1% -0.9%
1985 52.6% +0.9%
1986 52.5% -0.2%
1987 52.7% +0.4%
1988 50.7% -3.8%
1989 50.9% +0.4%
1990 51.3% +0.8%
1991 50.2% -2.1%
1992 50.6% +0.8%
1993 50.5% -0.2%
1994 50.2% -0.7%
1995 49.4% -1.5%
1996 49.2% -0.4%
1997 47.7% -3.0%
1998 49.4% +3.4%
1999 48.9% -0.9%
2000 47.0% -3.9%
2001 45.2% -3.9%
2002 41.9% -7.3%
2003 39.0% -6.9%
2004 36.9% -5.3%
2005 35.3% -4.4%
2006 32.8% -7.2%
2007 31.1% -5.2%
2008 29.1% -6.4%
2009 28.1% -3.3%
2010 27.5% -2.2%
2011 26.4% -4.0%
2012 25.3% -4.2%
2013 24.8% -1.9%
2014 24.5% -1.0%
2015 24.9% +1.3%
2016 24.6% -1.0%
2017 24.0% -2.4%
2018 23.7% -1.4%
2019 23.5% -0.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 58.9% 53.7% 64.9% 10
1980s 52.1% 50.7% 52.7% 10
1990s 49.7% 47.7% 51.3% 10
2000s 36.6% 28.1% 47.0% 10
2010s 24.9% 23.5% 27.5% 10

Countries ranked near Least developed countries

  1. 5 Eritrea 46.6% compare
  2. 6 Djibouti 41.8% compare
  3. 7 Guinea 38.8% compare
  4. 8 Syrian Arab Republic 34.2% compare
  5. 9 Burkina Faso 30.3% compare
  6. 10 Ethiopia 29.6% compare
  7. 11 Yemen 25.3% compare

See the full ranking of 191 places →

More reference data data for Least developed countries

All data for Least developed countries →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Least developed countries?
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Least developed countries was 23.5% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Least developed countries?
The highest recorded value was 64.9% in 1971.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Least developed countries?
The lowest recorded value was 23.5% in 2019.
How does Least developed countries rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
Least developed countries ranks 8th out of 43 groups with data for 2019.
Is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower rising or falling in Least developed countries?
Over the last ten years it is down 16.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Least developed countries data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Least developed countries. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 09 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-children-and-adolescents-of-primary-and-lower-secondary-school-age-2/least-developed-countries-un-classification/

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About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, female (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
191 places, 4,340 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Proportion of children and adolescents in the official age range for primary and lower secondary education who are not enrolled in primary or lower secondary education. To calculate the indicator, the number of students of the official age for primary and lower secondary education enrolled in primary or lower secondary education is subtracted from the total population of primary and lower secondary education. The result is expressed as a percentage of the population of the official age for primary and lower secondary education. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/