Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Latin America & Caribbean

Latin America & Caribbean: Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower was 4.3% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
4.3%
Change on year
down 3.0%
Rank
31st
of 43 groups
All-time high
14.6%
in 1970
All-time low
3.5%
in 2009
Years of data
50
1970–2019

Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Latin America & Caribbean, 1970–2019

2.557.51012.515197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2019, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Latin America & Caribbean stood at 4.3%.

That represents a change of down 3.0% on the previous year and up 21.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 14.6% in 1970 and was at its lowest, 3.5%, in 2009.

That places Latin America & Caribbean 31st 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 Latin America & Caribbean, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, both sexes (%) in Latin America & Caribbean, 1970 to 2019.
Year % Change
1970 14.6%
1971 14.5% -0.5%
1972 14.4% -0.8%
1973 13.5% -6.6%
1974 13.8% +2.4%
1975 13.5% -2.2%
1976 12.4% -8.3%
1977 11.7% -5.1%
1978 11.4% -2.8%
1979 10.5% -7.7%
1980 10.3% -2.1%
1981 9.6% -6.8%
1982 9.6% -0.4%
1983 9.5% -0.4%
1984 9.7% +1.2%
1985 9.4% -2.2%
1986 9.3% -2.0%
1987 9.2% -0.1%
1988 9.6% +3.4%
1989 10.8% +12.5%
1990 10.1% -6.3%
1991 9.8% -2.4%
1992 9.3% -5.6%
1993 9.0% -2.8%
1994 9.4% +4.4%
1995 9.3% -1.4%
1996 8.9% -4.3%
1997 9.4% +5.2%
1998 7.4% -20.7%
1999 6.6% -11.7%
2000 6.0% -7.9%
2001 5.9% -2.8%
2002 5.5% -6.4%
2003 5.1% -7.4%
2004 5.3% +3.8%
2005 4.7% -11.3%
2006 4.7% +0.1%
2007 4.2% -11.2%
2008 3.6% -14.7%
2009 3.5% -0.6%
2010 3.8% +8.8%
2011 4.1% +7.4%
2012 4.6% +12.5%
2013 4.1% -12.2%
2014 4.5% +9.1%
2015 4.4% -1.2%
2016 4.4% -0.8%
2017 4.7% +8.4%
2018 4.4% -6.9%
2019 4.3% -3.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 13.0% 10.5% 14.6% 10
1980s 9.7% 9.2% 10.8% 10
1990s 8.9% 6.6% 10.1% 10
2000s 4.8% 3.5% 6.0% 10
2010s 4.3% 3.8% 4.7% 10

Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean

  1. 28 Republic of Moldova 13.1% compare
  2. 29 Bulgaria 13.1% compare
  3. 30 Panama 12.9% compare
  4. 31 Togo 12.5% compare
  5. 32 Suriname 12.3% compare
  6. 33 British Virgin Islands 12.1% compare
  7. 34 Eswatini 12.0% compare

See the full ranking of 192 places →

More reference data data for Latin America & Caribbean

All data for Latin America & Caribbean →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Latin America & Caribbean?
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Latin America & Caribbean was 4.3% 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 Latin America & Caribbean?
The highest recorded value was 14.6% in 1970.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
The lowest recorded value was 3.5% in 2009.
How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
Latin America & Caribbean ranks 31st 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 Latin America & Caribbean?
Over the last ten years it is up 21.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Latin America & Caribbean 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, both sexes (%). 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 Latin America & Caribbean. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 16 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-children-and-adolescents-of-primary-and-lower-secondary-school-age/latin-america-and-caribbean/

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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/