Out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes in SDG: Central and Southern Asia
SDG: Central and Southern Asia: Out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes was 18.42 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
18.42 million
Change on year
down 1.5%
Rank
12th
of 39 groups
All-time high
55.41 million
in 2000
All-time low
18.42 million
in 2025
Years of data
26
2000–2025
Out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes in SDG: Central and Southern Asia, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
In 2025, out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes in SDG: Central and Southern Asia stood at 18.42 million. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is down 1.5% on the previous year and down 23.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes in SDG: Central and Southern Asia peaked at 55.41 million in 2000 and was at its lowest, 18.42 million, in 2025.
SDG: Central and Southern Asia ranks 12th of 39 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes in SDG: Central and Southern Asia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 55.41 million | — |
| 2001 | 52.40 million | -5.4% |
| 2002 | 49.76 million | -5.0% |
| 2003 | 47.50 million | -4.5% |
| 2004 | 45.23 million | -4.8% |
| 2005 | 43.10 million | -4.7% |
| 2006 | 40.93 million | -5.0% |
| 2007 | 38.31 million | -6.4% |
| 2008 | 35.93 million | -6.2% |
| 2009 | 33.81 million | -5.9% |
| 2010 | 31.46 million | -7.0% |
| 2011 | 29.42 million | -6.5% |
| 2012 | 27.88 million | -5.2% |
| 2013 | 26.48 million | -5.0% |
| 2014 | 25.10 million | -5.2% |
| 2015 | 23.94 million | -4.6% |
| 2016 | 22.77 million | -4.9% |
| 2017 | 21.68 million | -4.8% |
| 2018 | 20.81 million | -4.0% |
| 2019 | 20.16 million | -3.1% |
| 2020 | 19.65 million | -2.5% |
| 2021 | 19.19 million | -2.3% |
| 2022 | 19.35 million | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 19.02 million | -1.7% |
| 2024 | 18.70 million | -1.7% |
| 2025 | 18.42 million | -1.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 44.24 million | 33.81 million | 55.41 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.97 million | 20.16 million | 31.46 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.05 million | 18.42 million | 19.65 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near SDG: Central and Southern Asia
- 9 Philippines 1.62 million compare
- 10 Yemen 1.55 million compare
- 11 Burkina Faso 1.36 million compare
- 12 Mali 1.19 million compare
- 13 United States 965,853 compare
- 14 Bangladesh 918,575 compare
- 15 Chad 855,041 compare
More education data for SDG: Central and Southern Asia
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 92.92 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 58.28 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate -1.08 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 99.66 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 0.3161 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.04 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 192.58 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth -0.4111 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 8.99 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 2.87 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes in SDG: Central and Southern Asia?
- Out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes in SDG: Central and Southern Asia was 18.42 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in SDG: Central and Southern Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 55.41 million in 2000.
- What is the lowest out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in SDG: Central and Southern Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.42 million in 2025.
- How does SDG: Central and Southern Asia rank for out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes?
- SDG: Central and Southern Asia ranks 12th out of 39 groups with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes rising or falling in SDG: Central and Southern Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this SDG: Central and Southern Asia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release