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 7.0% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
7.0%
Change on year
down 3.2%
Rank
23rd
of 43 groups
All-time high
35.9%
in 1971
All-time low
7.0%
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

10203040197019942019

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 7.0%, measured in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 50 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.2% on the previous year and down 28.1% 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 35.9% in 1971 and was at its lowest, 7.0%, in 2019.

That places Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 23rd 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, both sexes (%) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, 1970 to 2019.
Year % Change
1970 35.2%
1971 35.9% +1.9%
1972 33.7% -5.9%
1973 32.8% -2.7%
1974 32.1% -2.3%
1975 30.5% -5.0%
1976 28.8% -5.4%
1977 27.8% -3.7%
1978 27.3% -1.8%
1979 28.2% +3.3%
1980 26.0% -7.5%
1981 26.0% -0.1%
1982 25.6% -1.4%
1983 25.3% -1.4%
1984 24.9% -1.5%
1985 23.5% -5.8%
1986 23.1% -1.5%
1987 22.0% -4.7%
1988 21.5% -2.3%
1989 21.4% -0.5%
1990 20.5% -4.3%
1991 19.6% -4.5%
1992 21.1% +7.7%
1993 20.5% -2.6%
1994 19.8% -3.4%
1995 20.3% +2.5%
1996 18.8% -7.6%
1997 18.6% -1.1%
1998 18.5% -0.3%
1999 17.8% -3.9%
2000 16.8% -5.3%
2001 15.1% -10.4%
2002 13.6% -9.7%
2003 13.2% -3.5%
2004 12.3% -6.1%
2005 12.0% -2.5%
2006 12.1% +0.5%
2007 11.3% -7.0%
2008 10.6% -6.2%
2009 9.7% -8.4%
2010 8.9% -8.1%
2011 8.7% -2.6%
2012 7.7% -11.7%
2013 8.9% +16.2%
2014 8.5% -4.7%
2015 8.1% -5.0%
2016 7.8% -3.7%
2017 7.6% -2.0%
2018 7.2% -5.5%
2019 7.0% -3.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 31.2% 27.3% 35.9% 10
1980s 23.9% 21.4% 26.0% 10
1990s 19.5% 17.8% 21.1% 10
2000s 12.7% 9.7% 16.8% 10
2010s 8.0% 7.0% 8.9% 10

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

  1. 20 Jamaica 17.4% compare
  2. 21 Laos 16.7% compare
  3. 22 Cameroon 16.5% compare
  4. 23 Burundi 15.2% compare
  5. 24 Tunisia 14.9% compare
  6. 25 El Salvador 14.8% compare
  7. 26 Iraq 13.6% compare

See the full ranking of 192 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 7.0% 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 35.9% 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 7.0% 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 23rd 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 28.1%. 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, 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 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/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, 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/