Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary was 242,760 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Zimbabwe, 1999–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Zimbabwe recorded 242,760 for out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in 2024.
That represents a change of up 7.8% on the previous year and up 43.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Zimbabwe peaked at 337,079 in 2018 and was at its lowest, 30,906, in 2001.
That places Zimbabwe 35th out of 170 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.
Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 149,649 | — |
| 2000 | 103,304 | -31.0% |
| 2001 | 30,906 | -70.1% |
| 2002 | 68,979 | +123.2% |
| 2003 | 100,838 | +46.2% |
| 2012 | 148,328 | +47.1% |
| 2013 | 162,937 | +9.8% |
| 2014 | 169,359 | +3.9% |
| 2015 | 286,038 | +68.9% |
| 2016 | 301,478 | +5.4% |
| 2017 | 323,499 | +7.3% |
| 2018 | 337,079 | +4.2% |
| 2019 | 331,240 | -1.7% |
| 2020 | 332,817 | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 211,521 | -36.4% |
| 2022 | 216,689 | +2.4% |
| 2023 | 225,179 | +3.9% |
| 2024 | 242,760 | +7.8% |
Zimbabwe compared with similar countries
- Zimbabwe's 242,760 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 122,542, 2.0× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Zimbabwe's 242,760 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 251,598, 96% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Zimbabwe changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | +123.2% | 30,906 | 68,979 |
| 2001 | -70.1% | 103,304 | 30,906 |
| 2015 | +68.9% | 169,359 | 286,038 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 149,649 | 149,649 | 149,649 | 1 |
| 2000s | 76,007 | 30,906 | 103,304 | 4 |
| 2010s | 257,495 | 148,328 | 337,079 | 8 |
| 2020s | 245,793 | 211,521 | 332,817 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
More education data for Zimbabwe
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 42,585 (2013)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 12,514 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 328,055 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 322,698 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 957,461 (2013)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.94 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.4866 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1767 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Zimbabwe?
- Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Zimbabwe was 242,760 in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 337,079 in 2018.
- What is the lowest out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 30,906 in 2001.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary?
- Zimbabwe ranks 35th out of 170 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 43.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zimbabwe data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, male (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release