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 20.7% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
20.7%
Change on year
down 0.9%
Rank
8th
of 43 groups
All-time high
48.5%
in 1970
All-time low
20.7%
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

01020304050197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

Least developed countries recorded 20.7% 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.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.9% on the previous year and down 9.4% 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 48.5% in 1970 and was at its lowest, 20.7%, 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, male (%) in Least developed countries, 1970 to 2019.
Year % Change
1970 48.5%
1971 47.9% -1.2%
1972 46.0% -3.9%
1973 44.4% -3.6%
1974 44.6% +0.5%
1975 43.6% -2.3%
1976 42.7% -2.1%
1977 41.9% -1.7%
1978 41.3% -1.5%
1979 41.0% -0.7%
1980 40.6% -1.1%
1981 40.4% -0.4%
1982 40.5% +0.3%
1983 40.4% -0.3%
1984 41.1% +1.8%
1985 41.5% +0.9%
1986 41.7% +0.3%
1987 41.9% +0.7%
1988 41.1% -2.0%
1989 41.5% +1.1%
1990 42.1% +1.3%
1991 41.4% -1.6%
1992 41.7% +0.8%
1993 41.7% +0.1%
1994 41.3% -0.9%
1995 39.8% -3.7%
1996 39.5% -0.7%
1997 38.3% -3.2%
1998 39.4% +3.0%
1999 39.5% +0.3%
2000 37.8% -4.3%
2001 36.1% -4.6%
2002 33.6% -6.9%
2003 31.3% -6.8%
2004 29.7% -5.2%
2005 27.9% -6.0%
2006 26.1% -6.7%
2007 24.9% -4.5%
2008 23.2% -6.7%
2009 22.8% -1.8%
2010 22.8% +0.1%
2011 22.2% -2.6%
2012 21.9% -1.7%
2013 21.5% -1.6%
2014 21.7% +0.9%
2015 21.9% +0.9%
2016 21.8% -0.7%
2017 21.3% -2.3%
2018 20.9% -1.9%
2019 20.7% -0.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 44.2% 41.0% 48.5% 10
1980s 41.1% 40.4% 41.9% 10
1990s 40.5% 38.3% 42.1% 10
2000s 29.4% 22.8% 37.8% 10
2010s 21.7% 20.7% 22.8% 10

Countries ranked near Least developed countries

  1. 5 Central African Republic 33.2% compare
  2. 6 Syrian Arab Republic 32.4% compare
  3. 7 Burkina Faso 31.1% compare
  4. 8 Chad 30.9% compare
  5. 9 Mauritania 27.1% compare
  6. 10 Bahamas 26.4% compare
  7. 11 Guinea 25.0% 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 20.7% 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 48.5% in 1970.
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 20.7% 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 9.4%. 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, male (%). 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 10 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-children-and-adolescents-of-primary-and-lower-secondary-school-age-4/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, male (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
191 places, 4,329 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/