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 5.7% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
5.7%
Change on year
down 2.2%
Rank
25th
of 43 groups
All-time high
23.5%
in 1971
All-time low
5.7%
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

510152025197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan is 5.7%, measured in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 50 years on record.

The figure is down 2.2% on the previous year and down 23.3% 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 23.5% in 1971 and was at its lowest, 5.7%, in 2019.

That places Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 25th 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, male (%) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, 1970 to 2019.
Year % Change
1970 23.1%
1971 23.5% +1.6%
1972 22.0% -6.2%
1973 21.3% -3.2%
1974 20.8% -2.6%
1975 20.0% -3.7%
1976 18.6% -7.0%
1977 17.9% -3.9%
1978 17.5% -1.8%
1979 18.0% +2.7%
1980 16.8% -6.9%
1981 16.8% +0.4%
1982 16.7% -0.5%
1983 16.6% -0.8%
1984 16.4% -1.5%
1985 15.7% -4.3%
1986 15.6% -0.5%
1987 14.9% -4.2%
1988 14.9% -0.3%
1989 15.0% +0.6%
1990 14.2% -5.1%
1991 13.7% -3.8%
1992 14.7% +7.3%
1993 14.4% -1.5%
1994 14.2% -1.5%
1995 14.5% +1.9%
1996 13.8% -5.1%
1997 13.6% -0.9%
1998 13.9% +1.9%
1999 13.4% -3.2%
2000 12.7% -5.2%
2001 11.1% -13.0%
2002 10.1% -9.1%
2003 9.9% -1.6%
2004 9.1% -7.8%
2005 9.1% -0.7%
2006 9.3% +2.9%
2007 8.7% -6.7%
2008 8.2% -6.3%
2009 7.5% -8.6%
2010 7.0% -6.3%
2011 7.1% +1.3%
2012 6.1% -14.2%
2013 7.3% +19.8%
2014 6.9% -5.7%
2015 6.5% -4.7%
2016 6.3% -3.1%
2017 6.2% -1.6%
2018 5.9% -6.1%
2019 5.7% -2.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 20.3% 17.5% 23.5% 10
1980s 15.9% 14.9% 16.8% 10
1990s 14.0% 13.4% 14.7% 10
2000s 9.6% 7.5% 12.7% 10
2010s 6.5% 5.7% 7.3% 10

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

  1. 22 Suriname 14.9% compare
  2. 23 Mozambique 14.7% compare
  3. 24 Yemen 14.2% compare
  4. 25 Cayman Islands 13.2% compare
  5. 26 Bulgaria 12.9% compare
  6. 27 Panama 12.9% compare
  7. 28 South Africa 12.6% 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 5.7% 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
The highest recorded value was 23.5% 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 5.7% 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 25th 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 23.3%. 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, 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 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-4/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, 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/