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

World: Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower was 11.2% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
11.2%
Change on year
down 0.4%
Rank
15th
of 43 groups
All-time high
32.2%
in 1971
All-time low
11.2%
in 2017
Years of data
50
1970–2019

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

1015202530197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2019, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in World stood at 11.2%.

That represents a change of down 0.4% on the previous year and down 14.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in World peaked at 32.2% in 1971 and was at its lowest, 11.2%, in 2017.

That places World 15th 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 World, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, female (%) in World, 1970 to 2019.
Year % Change
1970 31.5%
1971 32.2% +2.0%
1972 31.9% -0.9%
1973 29.8% -6.4%
1974 29.6% -0.8%
1975 28.3% -4.3%
1976 27.8% -1.7%
1977 28.0% +0.8%
1978 29.0% +3.4%
1979 28.6% -1.2%
1980 27.8% -2.9%
1981 27.1% -2.5%
1982 26.7% -1.5%
1983 26.6% -0.4%
1984 26.4% -0.6%
1985 25.7% -2.6%
1986 25.0% -2.9%
1987 24.6% -1.6%
1988 24.2% -1.6%
1989 23.8% -1.4%
1990 23.9% +0.2%
1991 23.7% -0.8%
1992 23.9% +0.9%
1993 23.7% -1.0%
1994 23.6% -0.4%
1995 23.8% +1.0%
1996 23.6% -0.8%
1997 23.5% -0.4%
1998 23.2% -1.4%
1999 22.4% -3.3%
2000 21.6% -3.8%
2001 21.0% -2.5%
2002 20.2% -3.9%
2003 17.9% -11.6%
2004 16.6% -7.3%
2005 15.7% -5.0%
2006 15.2% -3.4%
2007 14.1% -7.4%
2008 13.5% -4.0%
2009 13.2% -2.5%
2010 12.7% -3.3%
2011 12.4% -2.6%
2012 12.0% -3.1%
2013 11.7% -2.9%
2014 11.6% -0.8%
2015 11.6% -0.3%
2016 11.4% -1.4%
2017 11.2% -1.6%
2018 11.3% +0.4%
2019 11.2% -0.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 29.7% 27.8% 32.2% 10
1980s 25.8% 23.8% 27.8% 10
1990s 23.5% 22.4% 23.9% 10
2000s 16.9% 13.2% 21.6% 10
2010s 11.7% 11.2% 12.7% 10

Countries ranked near World

  1. 12 Bahamas 24.8% compare
  2. 13 Tunisia 23.9% compare
  3. 14 Côte d'Ivoire 23.4% compare
  4. 15 Jordan 23.3% compare
  5. 16 Mauritania 22.8% compare
  6. 17 Mozambique 20.9% compare
  7. 18 Iraq 20.7% compare

See the full ranking of 191 places →

More reference data data for World

All data for World →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in World?
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in World was 11.2% 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 World?
The highest recorded value was 32.2% in 1971.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in World?
The lowest recorded value was 11.2% in 2017.
How does World rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
World ranks 15th 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 World?
Over the last ten years it is down 14.9%. 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 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 World. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-children-and-adolescents-of-primary-and-lower-secondary-school-age-2/world/

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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/