Out-of-school children of primary school age, female in Zambia
Zambia: Out-of-school children of primary school age, female was 229,960 in 2017. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school children of primary school age, female in Zambia, 1972–2017
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
In 2017, out-of-school children of primary school age, female in Zambia stood at 229,960.
That represents a change of up 140.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school children of primary school age, female in Zambia peaked at 342,409 in 2001 and was at its lowest, 81,634, in 2012.
That places Zambia 25th out of 180 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
Out-of-school children of primary school age, female in Zambia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 126,073 | — |
| 1976 | 127,804 | +1.4% |
| 1977 | 131,169 | +2.6% |
| 1978 | 139,480 | +6.3% |
| 1979 | 144,478 | +3.6% |
| 1980 | 148,412 | +2.7% |
| 1981 | 151,767 | +2.3% |
| 1982 | 156,505 | +3.1% |
| 1983 | 152,134 | -2.8% |
| 1984 | 150,637 | -1.0% |
| 1986 | 144,753 | -3.9% |
| 1988 | 156,767 | +8.3% |
| 1994 | 233,770 | +49.1% |
| 1995 | 257,837 | +10.3% |
| 1998 | 306,733 | +19.0% |
| 1999 | 330,000 | +7.6% |
| 2000 | 335,081 | +1.5% |
| 2001 | 342,409 | +2.2% |
| 2002 | 322,709 | -5.8% |
| 2004 | 191,539 | -40.6% |
| 2005 | 92,835 | -51.5% |
| 2006 | 110,828 | +19.4% |
| 2007 | 95,749 | -13.6% |
| 2009 | 116,739 | +21.9% |
| 2010 | 153,718 | +31.7% |
| 2011 | 104,536 | -32.0% |
| 2012 | 81,634 | -21.9% |
| 2013 | 137,596 | +68.6% |
| 2017 | 229,960 | +67.1% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 229,960 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 55,174, 4.2× the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 229,960 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 136,564, 1.7× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school children of primary school age, female in Zambia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | +68.6% | 81,634 | 137,596 |
| 2017 | +67.1% | 137,596 | 229,960 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 133,801 | 126,073 | 144,478 | 5 |
| 1980s | 151,568 | 144,753 | 156,767 | 7 |
| 1990s | 282,085 | 233,770 | 330,000 | 4 |
| 2000s | 200,986 | 92,835 | 342,409 | 8 |
| 2010s | 141,489 | 81,634 | 229,960 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More education data for Zambia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 42,585 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 169,961 (2013)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.39 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.49 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.55 % change on previous year (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.2106 units per person (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 4.49 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school children of primary school age, female in Zambia?
- Out-of-school children of primary school age, female in Zambia was 229,960 in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school children of primary school age, female recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 342,409 in 2001.
- What is the lowest out-of-school children of primary school age, female recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 81,634 in 2012.
- How does Zambia rank for out-of-school children of primary school age, female?
- Zambia ranks 25th out of 180 countries with data for 2017.
- Is out-of-school children of primary school age, female rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 140.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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 — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release