Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)

Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income): Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower was 22.3% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
22.3%
Change on year
down 1.9%
Rank
2nd
of 43 groups
All-time high
51.3%
in 1970
All-time low
22.3%
in 2019
Years of data
50
1970–2019

Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), 1970–2019

0204060197019942019

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 Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) is 22.3%, measured in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 50 years on record.

That represents a change of down 1.9% on the previous year and down 9.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) peaked at 51.3% in 1970 and was at its lowest, 22.3%, in 2019.

Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 2nd of 43 groups on this measure, in the top 10%.

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 Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, male (%) in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), 1970 to 2019.
Year % Change
1970 51.3%
1971 51.2% -0.4%
1972 50.7% -1.0%
1973 50.1% -1.2%
1974 48.9% -2.3%
1975 48.0% -1.9%
1976 47.5% -1.1%
1977 46.3% -2.5%
1978 44.9% -2.9%
1979 43.1% -4.1%
1980 41.7% -3.1%
1981 40.4% -3.1%
1982 39.4% -2.5%
1983 39.4% -0.0%
1984 39.8% +0.9%
1985 40.4% +1.7%
1986 41.9% +3.6%
1987 42.4% +1.3%
1988 43.0% +1.3%
1989 42.6% -0.9%
1990 43.0% +1.0%
1991 42.5% -1.2%
1992 42.8% +0.7%
1993 42.5% -0.8%
1994 42.4% -0.3%
1995 41.1% -3.1%
1996 41.6% +1.4%
1997 39.9% -4.1%
1998 39.8% -0.2%
1999 39.4% -1.2%
2000 37.4% -4.9%
2001 35.9% -4.1%
2002 34.2% -4.8%
2003 32.2% -5.8%
2004 30.8% -4.3%
2005 29.1% -5.5%
2006 27.9% -4.3%
2007 25.8% -7.5%
2008 25.2% -2.4%
2009 24.7% -2.0%
2010 24.5% -0.6%
2011 23.6% -3.8%
2012 23.5% -0.2%
2013 23.2% -1.3%
2014 23.4% +0.9%
2015 23.4% -0.0%
2016 23.0% -2.0%
2017 22.6% -1.6%
2018 22.7% +0.7%
2019 22.3% -1.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 48.2% 43.1% 51.3% 10
1980s 41.1% 39.4% 43.0% 10
1990s 41.5% 39.4% 43.0% 10
2000s 30.3% 24.7% 37.4% 10
2010s 23.2% 22.3% 24.5% 10

Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)

  1. 1 Djibouti 44.1% compare
  2. 2 Mali 41.3% compare
  3. 3 Eritrea 40.6% compare
  4. 4 Niger 39.9% compare
  5. 5 Central African Republic 33.2% compare

See the full ranking of 191 places →

More reference data data for Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)

All data for Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) was 22.3% 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 Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
The highest recorded value was 51.3% in 1970.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
The lowest recorded value was 22.3% in 2019.
How does Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 2nd 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 Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
Over the last ten years it is down 9.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) 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 Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income). Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 17 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-children-and-adolescents-of-primary-and-lower-secondary-school-age-4/sub-saharan-africa-excluding-high-income/

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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/