Statizoid

Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, both sexes (%) by country

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...

Countries reporting
149
Highest
44.5%
Niger
Lowest
0.1%
Iceland
Median
3.3%
Years covered
50
1970–2019
Data points
4,615

What the numbers show

Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, both sexes (%) is currently reported for 149 countries. The highest value is 44.5% in Niger; the lowest is 0.1% in Iceland.

The median across all reporting countries is 3.3%, and the mean is 7.8%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 466.

Over the past decade 47 countries rose and 92 fell. The largest increase was in Latvia (up 15,679.2%), and the largest decrease in Sri Lanka (down 93.9%).

Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Niger 44.5% 2017 down 30.3% falling
2 Mali 44.4% 2018 up 14.7% falling
3 Eritrea 43.5% 2018 up 56.6% falling
4 Djibouti 43.0% 2015 down 34.4% falling
5 Central African Republic 41.7% 2012 — falling
6 Chad 39.2% 2019 — falling
7 Syrian Arab Republic 33.3% 2013 up 180.3% volatile
8 Guinea 31.8% 2014 down 30.2% falling
9 Burkina Faso 30.7% 2019 down 36.2% falling
10 Ethiopia 26.8% 2015 down 36.5% falling
11 Bahamas 25.6% 2018 up 131.4% rising
12 Mauritania 25.0% 2019 down 25.6% falling
13 Jordan 22.8% 2019 up 88.4% rising
14 Puerto Rico 21.2% 2018 up 66.0% rising
15 Honduras 21.1% 2019 down 11.1% falling
16 Côte d'Ivoire 19.8% 2019 down 44.5% falling
17 Yemen 19.6% 2016 down 19.4% falling
18 Guatemala 18.1% 2018 up 48.4% volatile
19 Mozambique 17.8% 2015 down 39.5% falling
20 Jamaica 17.4% 2019 up 165.3% volatile
21 Lao People's Democratic Republic 16.7% 2019 up 9.0% falling
22 Cameroon 16.5% 2016 — falling
23 Burundi 15.2% 2019 down 22.3% volatile
24 Tunisia 14.9% 1985 down 45.6% falling
25 El Salvador 14.8% 2018 — rising
26 Iraq 13.6% 2007 down 39.6% falling
27 Cayman Islands 13.4% 2018 up 12.2% rising
28 Republic of Moldova 13.1% 2019 up 26.0% rising
29 Bulgaria 13.1% 2018 up 147.4% volatile
30 Panama 12.9% 2017 up 103.8% rising
31 Togo 12.5% 2017 down 36.6% falling
32 Suriname 12.3% 2015 down 26.8% rising
33 British Virgin Islands 12.1% 2018 up 436.8% volatile
34 Eswatini 12.0% 2015 down 18.3% volatile
35 South Africa 11.7% 2018 up 86.8% falling
36 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 11.1% 2017 up 143.0% volatile
37 Romania 11.0% 2018 up 221.3% rising
38 Sao Tome and Principe 10.8% 2015 up 130.6% rising
39 Myanmar 10.7% 2018 down 53.4% falling
40 Paraguay 10.5% 2012 up 52.0% rising
41 Armenia 9.6% 2019 up 107.2% rising
42 Bhutan 9.6% 2018 down 56.4% volatile
43 Indonesia 9.2% 2018 down 3.1% volatile
44 Botswana 9.2% 2003 up 12.9% volatile
45 Lesotho 9.0% 2016 down 28.1% falling
46 Kenya 9.0% 2009 down 70.5% falling
47 Cape Verde 8.8% 2018 up 105.0% volatile
48 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 8.4% 2018 up 3,420.2% volatile
49 Turks and Caicos Islands 8.1% 2018 down 34.1% volatile
50 Malawi 8.0% 2019 down 4.9% flat
51 Cambodia 7.3% 2015 down 70.1% volatile
52 Namibia 7.3% 2007 down 46.6% falling
53 Timor-Leste 6.7% 2019 down 56.7% falling
54 Nicaragua 6.5% 2010 down 68.8% volatile
55 Philippines 6.5% 2018 down 28.8% falling
56 Vanuatu 6.3% 2015 up 3.4% volatile
57 Ukraine 5.7% 2014 up 4.7% rising
58 Türkiye 5.6% 2018 up 106.1% volatile
59 Libya 4.9% 1983 down 65.3% volatile
60 Malaysia 4.8% 2017 down 22.8% volatile
61 Slovakia 4.6% 2018 down 3.2% flat
62 Dominican Republic 4.5% 2019 down 14.5% falling
63 Aruba 4.4% 2009 up 223.2% rising
64 Azerbaijan 4.4% 2019 down 61.6% falling
65 Belize 4.4% 2019 down 34.4% falling
66 Saint Lucia 4.3% 2019 down 44.7% falling
67 Cuba 4.0% 2019 up 22.5% volatile
68 Colombia 4.0% 2018 up 29.4% rising
69 Tajikistan 3.9% 2011 down 66.0% volatile
70 Ghana 3.9% 2019 down 77.3% volatile
71 Hungary 3.8% 2018 up 45.1% rising
72 Maldives 3.6% 2019 — rising
73 Kuwait 3.6% 2015 down 23.9% volatile
74 Montenegro 3.5% 2019 — flat
75 Grenada 3.3% 2005 — volatile
76 Morocco 3.3% 2019 down 79.0% volatile
77 Germany 3.1% 2018 up 26.1% rising
78 Mexico 3.1% 2018 up 66.7% volatile
79 Palestine, State of 3.0% 2019 down 73.3% falling
80 Dominica 3.0% 2019 down 77.9% volatile
81 Albania 2.9% 2019 down 42.8% falling
82 Qatar 2.8% 2019 down 23.9% volatile
83 Tonga 2.8% 2015 down 62.2% falling
84 Bahrain 2.8% 2019 down 66.6% volatile
85 Italy 2.7% 2018 up 409.7% volatile
86 Mauritius 2.6% 2019 down 10.7% volatile
87 Barbados 2.5% 2019 down 50.9% falling
88 Ecuador 2.5% 2018 down 68.8% volatile
89 Oman 2.4% 2019 down 19.4% volatile
90 Thailand 2.4% 2009 — volatile
91 Chile 2.3% 2018 down 26.4% falling
92 Greece 2.3% 2018 down 51.8% volatile
93 Spain 2.2% 2018 up 299.8% volatile
94 Poland 2.1% 2018 down 66.3% flat
95 Luxembourg 2.1% 2018 down 6.3% volatile
96 Peru 2.1% 2019 up 70.3% volatile
97 Fiji 2.0% 2012 up 33.0% volatile
98 Serbia 2.0% 2019 down 20.1% falling
99 Estonia 1.9% 2018 down 2.5% rising
100 Liechtenstein 1.9% 2018 down 34.2% volatile
101 Seychelles 1.8% 2019 up 106.9% volatile
102 Hong Kong, China 1.7% 2018 down 32.7% volatile
103 Iran, Islamic Republic of 1.6% 2017 down 69.3% falling
104 Saint Kitts and Nevis 1.6% 2016 up 227.1% volatile
105 Mongolia 1.6% 2015 down 73.3% volatile
106 Republic of Korea 1.5% 2018 up 31.0% volatile
107 Macau, China 1.5% 2019 down 90.1% falling
108 Kyrgyzstan 1.3% 2019 down 78.3% falling
109 Croatia 1.3% 2018 down 29.7% volatile
110 Egypt 1.2% 2019 down 88.4% volatile
111 Brunei Darussalam 1.2% 2019 up 70.3% volatile
112 Belarus 1.2% 2018 down 11.8% falling
113 Netherlands 1.1% 2018 — falling
114 Australia 1.1% 2018 up 333.6% volatile
115 Latvia 1.1% 2018 up 15,679.2% rising
116 Samoa 1.1% 2016 up 124.9% volatile
117 United Arab Emirates 1.0% 2017 — volatile
118 Uzbekistan 0.9% 2019 down 83.5% falling
119 Finland 0.9% 2018 down 49.7% flat
120 Antigua and Barbuda 0.9% 2018 down 65.4% volatile
121 Zimbabwe 0.9% 2013 down 93.4% volatile
122 Czechia 0.8% 2018 down 82.0% volatile
123 Costa Rica 0.7% 2019 down 75.7% volatile
124 Slovenia 0.6% 2018 down 13.9% volatile
125 Kazakhstan 0.6% 2019 up 182.7% volatile
126 New Zealand 0.6% 2018 down 67.1% volatile
127 Belgium 0.6% 2018 down 73.8% volatile
128 Malta 0.6% 2018 up 39.8% volatile
129 Denmark 0.6% 2018 down 7.3% falling
130 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0.6% 2017 down 70.3% volatile
131 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 0.5% 2018 down 60.5% volatile
132 United States of America 0.5% 2018 down 74.2% volatile
133 Cyprus 0.5% 2018 up 50.8% volatile
134 Georgia 0.4% 2019 down 84.8% volatile
135 France 0.4% 2018 down 40.1% volatile
136 Switzerland 0.4% 2018 down 80.5% volatile
137 Sweden 0.4% 2018 down 87.9% volatile
138 Sri Lanka 0.4% 2018 down 93.9% volatile
139 Canada 0.3% 2018 down 28.8% volatile
140 Portugal 0.3% 2018 down 35.0% volatile
141 Argentina 0.3% 2017 down 71.0% volatile
142 Uruguay 0.3% 2017 down 92.4% volatile
143 Israel 0.2% 2018 up 87.7% volatile
144 Russian Federation 0.2% 2018 down 88.9% volatile
145 Austria 0.2% 2018 down 92.6% volatile
146 Lithuania 0.2% 2018 down 0.7% volatile
147 Norway 0.2% 2018 down 82.0% volatile
148 Ireland 0.1% 2018 down 62.8% volatile
149 Iceland 0.1% 2018 down 93.8% falling

Regions and income groups

Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.

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Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower by country. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 07 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-children-and-adolescents-of-primary-and-lower-secondary-school-age/

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About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, both sexes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
192 places, 4,615 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/