Out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes in SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia
SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia: Out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes was 8.71 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes in SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes in SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia is 8.71 million, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.5% on the previous year and down 4.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes in SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia peaked at 12.42 million in 2000 and was at its lowest, 8.71 million, in 2025.
That places SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia 18th out of 39 groups with data for 2025, putting it 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: Northern Africa and Western Asia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 12.42 million | — |
| 2001 | 12.09 million | -2.7% |
| 2002 | 11.59 million | -4.1% |
| 2003 | 10.92 million | -5.8% |
| 2004 | 10.39 million | -4.9% |
| 2005 | 10.41 million | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 10.13 million | -2.7% |
| 2007 | 9.93 million | -2.0% |
| 2008 | 9.76 million | -1.7% |
| 2009 | 9.63 million | -1.3% |
| 2010 | 9.51 million | -1.2% |
| 2011 | 9.36 million | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 9.17 million | -2.0% |
| 2013 | 9.01 million | -1.7% |
| 2014 | 9.14 million | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 9.09 million | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 8.96 million | -1.4% |
| 2017 | 8.85 million | -1.3% |
| 2018 | 8.85 million | -0.0% |
| 2019 | 8.88 million | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 8.87 million | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 8.88 million | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 8.90 million | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 8.86 million | -0.5% |
| 2024 | 8.75 million | -1.2% |
| 2025 | 8.71 million | -0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 10.73 million | 9.63 million | 12.42 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.08 million | 8.85 million | 9.51 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.83 million | 8.71 million | 8.90 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia
More education data for SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 26.40 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 9.09 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.19 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 28.29 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 1.58 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 3.02 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), annual growth rate 0.371 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 1.38 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 0.2663 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 2.39 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes in SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia?
- Out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes in SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia was 8.71 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: Northern Africa and Western Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 12.42 million in 2000.
- What is the lowest out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.71 million in 2025.
- How does SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia rank for out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes?
- SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia ranks 18th out of 39 groups with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes rising or falling in SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this SDG: Northern Africa and Western 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.
Download this data
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