Out-of-school children of primary school age, female in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Out-of-school children of primary school age, female was 2.33 million in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school children of primary school age, female in Ethiopia, 1987–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Ethiopia recorded 2.33 million for out-of-school children of primary school age, female in 2024.
The figure is down 3.5% on the previous year and up 30.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school children of primary school age, female in Ethiopia peaked at 3.73 million in 1999 and was at its lowest, 1.20 million, in 2017.
Ethiopia ranks 4th of 180 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 28 years of available data.
Out-of-school children of primary school age, female in Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 2.55 million | — |
| 1988 | 2.63 million | +3.1% |
| 1989 | 2.73 million | +3.7% |
| 1994 | 3.48 million | +27.6% |
| 1995 | 3.56 million | +2.3% |
| 1996 | 3.60 million | +1.1% |
| 1998 | 3.69 million | +2.5% |
| 1999 | 3.73 million | +1.2% |
| 2000 | 3.69 million | -1.3% |
| 2001 | 3.60 million | -2.3% |
| 2002 | 3.62 million | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 3.70 million | +2.1% |
| 2004 | 3.59 million | -2.8% |
| 2005 | 2.98 million | -17.1% |
| 2006 | 2.69 million | -9.8% |
| 2007 | 2.37 million | -11.8% |
| 2008 | 2.01 million | -15.0% |
| 2009 | 2.04 million | +1.6% |
| 2010 | 2.26 million | +10.5% |
| 2011 | 2.36 million | +4.7% |
| 2012 | 2.02 million | -14.5% |
| 2014 | 1.78 million | -11.7% |
| 2015 | 1.93 million | +8.0% |
| 2017 | 1.20 million | -37.8% |
| 2021 | 2.58 million | +114.7% |
| 2022 | 2.47 million | -3.9% |
| 2023 | 2.41 million | -2.6% |
| 2024 | 2.33 million | -3.5% |
Ethiopia compared with similar countries
- Ethiopia's 2.33 million is above the median for low income countries, which is 294,476, 7.9× the median. (20 countries reporting)
- Ethiopia's 2.33 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 136,564, 17.0× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school children of primary school age, female in Ethiopia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | +114.7% | 1.20 million | 2.58 million |
| 2017 | -37.8% | 1.93 million | 1.20 million |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 2.64 million | 2.55 million | 2.73 million | 3 |
| 1990s | 3.61 million | 3.48 million | 3.73 million | 5 |
| 2000s | 3.03 million | 2.01 million | 3.70 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.93 million | 1.20 million | 2.36 million | 6 |
| 2020s | 2.45 million | 2.33 million | 2.58 million | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
More education data for Ethiopia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 272,545 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 900,151 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 2.32 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 2.16 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 5.03 million (2015)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 15.93 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.45 % 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 0.1206 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school children of primary school age, female in Ethiopia?
- Out-of-school children of primary school age, female in Ethiopia was 2.33 million in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school children of primary school age, female recorded in Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.73 million in 1999.
- What is the lowest out-of-school children of primary school age, female recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.20 million in 2017.
- How does Ethiopia rank for out-of-school children of primary school age, female?
- Ethiopia ranks 4th out of 180 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school children of primary school age, female rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 30.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ethiopia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school children of primary school age, female (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release