Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper was 23.2% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Sierra Leone, 2013–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Sierra Leone is 23.2%, measured in 2023.
The figure is up 6.9% on the previous year and down 56.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Sierra Leone peaked at 57.7% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 21.7%, in 2022.
That places Sierra Leone 50th out of 175 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 53.5% | — |
| 2015 | 53.3% | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 51.8% | -2.8% |
| 2017 | 51.4% | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 57.7% | +12.4% |
| 2019 | 40.4% | -30.1% |
| 2020 | 39.1% | -3.1% |
| 2021 | 29.0% | -25.8% |
| 2022 | 21.7% | -25.1% |
| 2023 | 23.2% | +6.9% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 23.2% is below the median for low income countries, which is 49.0%, 47% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 23.2% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 39.2%, 59% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 51.3% | 40.4% | 57.7% | 6 |
| 2020s | 28.3% | 21.7% | 39.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
- 47 Panama 25.3% compare
- 48 Dominican Republic 23.5% compare
- 49 Myanmar 23.3% compare
- 51 Timor-Leste 22.6% compare
- 52 Puerto Rico 22.4% compare
- 53 Paraguay 22.3% compare
More education data for Sierra Leone
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 38,043 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 73,295 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 85,708 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 92,723 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.16 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.07 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.52 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.2393 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Sierra Leone?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Sierra Leone was 23.2% 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 Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 57.7% in 2018.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.7% in 2022.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper?
- Sierra Leone ranks 50th out of 175 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is down 56.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sierra Leone 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, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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