Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan: Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower was 8.3% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
8.3%
Change on year
down 3.8%
Rank
23rd
of 43 groups
All-time high
48.9%
in 1971
All-time low
8.3%
in 2019
Years of data
50
1970–2019

Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, 1970–2019

1020304050197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan recorded 8.3% for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 50 years on record.

That represents a change of down 3.8% on the previous year and down 31.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan peaked at 48.9% in 1971 and was at its lowest, 8.3%, in 2019.

That places Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 23rd 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 and adolescents of primary and lower in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, female (%) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, 1970 to 2019.
Year % Change
1970 47.9%
1971 48.9% +2.1%
1972 46.1% -5.8%
1973 44.9% -2.4%
1974 44.0% -2.1%
1975 41.5% -5.6%
1976 39.6% -4.6%
1977 38.2% -3.7%
1978 37.5% -1.8%
1979 38.8% +3.5%
1980 35.8% -7.8%
1981 35.6% -0.4%
1982 35.0% -1.8%
1983 34.4% -1.7%
1984 33.9% -1.5%
1985 31.6% -6.7%
1986 31.0% -2.0%
1987 29.4% -5.0%
1988 28.5% -3.4%
1989 28.1% -1.1%
1990 27.1% -3.8%
1991 25.7% -4.9%
1992 27.8% +7.9%
1993 26.9% -3.2%
1994 25.7% -4.5%
1995 26.4% +2.9%
1996 24.0% -9.1%
1997 23.7% -1.3%
1998 23.3% -1.7%
1999 22.3% -4.3%
2000 21.1% -5.3%
2001 19.3% -8.7%
2002 17.3% -10.1%
2003 16.5% -4.7%
2004 15.7% -5.1%
2005 15.1% -3.5%
2006 15.0% -1.0%
2007 13.9% -7.2%
2008 13.1% -6.1%
2009 12.0% -8.3%
2010 10.9% -9.2%
2011 10.3% -5.1%
2012 9.3% -9.9%
2013 10.6% +13.7%
2014 10.2% -4.0%
2015 9.6% -5.2%
2016 9.2% -4.0%
2017 9.0% -2.3%
2018 8.6% -5.0%
2019 8.3% -3.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 42.7% 37.5% 48.9% 10
1980s 32.3% 28.1% 35.8% 10
1990s 25.3% 22.3% 27.8% 10
2000s 15.9% 12.0% 21.1% 10
2010s 9.6% 8.3% 10.9% 10

Countries ranked near Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan

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  3. 22 Guatemala 18.8% compare
  4. 23 Laos 17.3% compare
  5. 24 Jamaica 17.1% compare
  6. 25 Togo 16.7% compare
  7. 26 El Salvador 14.6% compare

See the full ranking of 191 places →

More reference data data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan

All data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan was 8.3% 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
The highest recorded value was 48.9% in 1971.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
The lowest recorded value was 8.3% in 2019.
How does Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan ranks 23rd 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
Over the last ten years it is down 31.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 18 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-children-and-adolescents-of-primary-and-lower-secondary-school-age-2/middle-east-north-africa-afghanistan-and-pakistan/

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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/