Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Jamaica
Jamaica: Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper was 19.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Jamaica, 1999–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Jamaica stood at 19.8%.
That represents a change of down 64.2% on the previous year and up 7.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Jamaica peaked at 55.5% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 15.4%, in 2016.
Jamaica ranks 55th of 179 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Jamaica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 19.2% | — |
| 2000 | 23.6% | +22.6% |
| 2001 | 23.9% | +1.3% |
| 2002 | 22.1% | -7.5% |
| 2003 | 22.1% | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 18.1% | -18.3% |
| 2005 | 19.1% | +5.6% |
| 2013 | 18.4% | -3.6% |
| 2014 | 17.6% | -4.2% |
| 2015 | 18.3% | +3.7% |
| 2016 | 15.4% | -15.6% |
| 2017 | 18.6% | +20.8% |
| 2018 | 19.2% | +2.9% |
| 2019 | 19.7% | +2.5% |
| 2021 | 21.8% | +10.7% |
| 2022 | 55.5% | +154.9% |
| 2023 | 19.8% | -64.2% |
Jamaica compared with similar countries
- Jamaica's 19.8% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 13.6%, 1.5× the median. (52 countries reporting)
- Jamaica's 19.8% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 14.0%, 1.4× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Jamaica 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +154.9% | 21.8% | 55.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 19.2% | 19.2% | 19.2% | 1 |
| 2000s | 21.5% | 18.1% | 23.9% | 6 |
| 2010s | 18.2% | 15.4% | 19.7% | 7 |
| 2020s | 32.4% | 19.8% | 55.5% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
- 52 Kenya 20.8% compare
- 53 Dominican Republic 20.4% compare
- 54 Timor-Leste 20.0% compare
- 56 Brunei Darussalam 19.8% compare
- 57 Myanmar 19.3% compare
- 58 Maldives 19.2% compare
More education data for Jamaica
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 11,043 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 4,597 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 52,983 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 51,265 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 177,095 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 211,097 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 8.14 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0744 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Jamaica?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Jamaica was 19.8% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 55.5% in 2022.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.4% in 2016.
- How does Jamaica rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper?
- Jamaica ranks 55th out of 179 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Jamaica data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper secondary school age, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 17 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release