World - Children out of school (% of primary school age)

Children out of school (% of primary school age) in World was 8.76 as of 2020. Its highest value over the past 50 years was 27.79 in 1971, while its lowest value was 8.37 in 2013.

Definition: Children out of school are the percentage of primary-school-age children who are not enrolled in primary or secondary school. Children in the official primary age group that are in preprimary education should be considered out of school.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (http://uis.unesco.org/)

See also:

Year Value
1970 27.69
1971 27.79
1972 26.97
1973 24.81
1974 24.15
1975 23.03
1976 22.44
1977 22.46
1978 23.50
1979 23.19
1980 22.05
1981 21.25
1982 20.83
1983 20.59
1984 20.34
1985 19.71
1986 18.95
1987 18.67
1988 18.03
1989 17.37
1990 17.41
1991 17.18
1992 17.44
1993 17.30
1994 17.21
1995 17.48
1996 17.66
1997 17.44
1998 16.61
1999 15.61
2000 14.82
2001 14.44
2002 14.03
2003 12.69
2004 11.49
2005 10.67
2006 10.35
2007 9.04
2008 8.86
2009 9.00
2010 8.87
2011 8.89
2012 8.62
2013 8.37
2014 8.78
2015 8.99
2016 8.80
2017 8.78
2018 8.55
2019 8.64
2020 8.76

Limitations and Exceptions: The administrative data used in the calculation of the rate of out-of-school children are based on enrolment at a specific date which can bias the results by either counting enrolled children who never attend school or by omitting those who enroll after the reference date for reporting enrolment data. Furthermore, children who drop out of school after the reference date are not counted as out of school. Discrepancies between enrolment and population data from different sources can also result in over- or underestimates of the rate. Lastly, the international comparability of this indicator can be affected by the use of different concepts of enrolment and out-of-school children across countries.

Other Notes: Data retrieved via API in March 2019. For detailed information on the observation level (e.g. National Estimation, UIS Estimation, or Category not applicable), please visit UIS.Stat (http://data.uis.unesco.org/).

Statistical Concept and Methodology: The rate of out-of-school children allows to compare across countries with different population sizes. It shows the share of official primary-school-age children who never attended school or dropped out to the population of official primary school age. Data on education are collected by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics from official responses to its annual education survey. All the data are mapped to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) to ensure the comparability of education programs at the international level. The current version was formally adopted by UNESCO Member States in 2011. Population data are drawn from the United Nations Population Division. Using a single source for population data standardizes definitions, estimations, and interpolation methods, ensuring a consistent methodology across countries and minimizing potential enumeration problems in national censuses. The reference years reflect the school year for which the data are presented. In some countries the school year spans two calendar years (for example, from September 2010 to June 2011); in these cases the reference year refers to the year in which the school year ended (2011 in the example).

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Education Indicators

Sub-Topic: Participation