Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper was 15.4% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Sri Lanka, 2010–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 15.4% for out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in 2023.
That represents a change of up 2.1% on the previous year and down 14.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Sri Lanka peaked at 20.2% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 11.7%, in 2021.
That places Sri Lanka 79th 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 Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 20.2% | — |
| 2011 | 19.4% | -4.4% |
| 2013 | 18.1% | -6.6% |
| 2015 | 14.7% | -18.8% |
| 2016 | 15.9% | +8.6% |
| 2017 | 16.3% | +2.0% |
| 2018 | 13.9% | -14.5% |
| 2021 | 11.7% | -16.3% |
| 2022 | 15.1% | +29.4% |
| 2023 | 15.4% | +2.1% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 15.4% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 14.9%, 1.0× the median. (51 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 15.4% is below the median for South Asia, which is 19.8%, 78% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 16.9% | 13.9% | 20.2% | 7 |
| 2020s | 14.0% | 11.7% | 15.4% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 76 Cuba 15.9% compare
- 77 Iran, Islamic Republic of 15.8% compare
- 78 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 15.7% compare
- 80 Bosnia and Herzegovina 14.9% compare
- 81 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 14.9% compare
- 82 Palestine, State of 14.8% compare
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 rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Sri Lanka?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Sri Lanka was 15.4% 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 20.2% in 2010.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.7% in 2021.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper?
- Sri Lanka ranks 79th 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 Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.9%. 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 rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper secondary school age, male (%). 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