Out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry was 57,496 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry in Sri Lanka, 2013–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 57,496 for out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 10 years on record.
That represents a change of down 12.7% on the previous year and down 42.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry in Sri Lanka peaked at 99,779 in 2013 and was at its lowest, 57,496, in 2023.
Sri Lanka ranks 35th of 176 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.
Out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 99,779 | — |
| 2015 | 80,557 | -19.3% |
| 2016 | 73,372 | -8.9% |
| 2017 | 95,576 | +30.3% |
| 2018 | 97,390 | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 92,045 | -5.5% |
| 2020 | 87,195 | -5.3% |
| 2021 | 72,832 | -16.5% |
| 2022 | 65,864 | -9.6% |
| 2023 | 57,496 | -12.7% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 57,496 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3,587, 16.0× the median. (52 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 57,496 is above the median for South Asia, which is 51,408, 1.1× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 89,787 | 73,372 | 99,779 | 6 |
| 2020s | 70,846 | 57,496 | 87,195 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More education data for Sri Lanka
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 155,543 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 224,799 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 214,300 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.54 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.58 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.89 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0715 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry in Sri Lanka?
- Out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry in Sri Lanka was 57,496 in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 99,779 in 2013.
- What is the lowest out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 57,496 in 2023.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry?
- Sri Lanka ranks 35th out of 176 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 42.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school children, one year before the official primary entry age, male (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release