Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper was 37.1% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Zimbabwe, 1999–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Zimbabwe recorded 37.1% for out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in 2024.
That represents a change of up 2.0% on the previous year and up 34.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Zimbabwe peaked at 42.8% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 6.5%, in 2012.
That places Zimbabwe 31st out of 175 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 18 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 37.7% | — |
| 2000 | 39.0% | +3.5% |
| 2001 | 36.0% | -7.6% |
| 2002 | 39.2% | +8.8% |
| 2003 | 42.8% | +9.3% |
| 2012 | 6.5% | -84.9% |
| 2013 | 28.0% | +333.9% |
| 2014 | 27.7% | -1.1% |
| 2015 | 25.4% | -8.3% |
| 2016 | 29.4% | +15.7% |
| 2017 | 30.7% | +4.6% |
| 2018 | 33.0% | +7.3% |
| 2019 | 33.4% | +1.3% |
| 2020 | 35.5% | +6.1% |
| 2021 | 35.8% | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 37.2% | +3.8% |
| 2023 | 36.3% | -2.2% |
| 2024 | 37.1% | +2.0% |
Zimbabwe compared with similar countries
- Zimbabwe's 37.1% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 24.4%, 1.5× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Zimbabwe's 37.1% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 39.2%, 95% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Zimbabwe 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 | +333.9% | 6.5% | 28.0% |
| 2012 | -84.9% | 42.8% | 6.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 37.7% | 37.7% | 37.7% | 1 |
| 2000s | 39.2% | 36.0% | 42.8% | 4 |
| 2010s | 26.7% | 6.5% | 33.4% | 8 |
| 2020s | 36.4% | 35.5% | 37.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
- 28 San Marino 39.0% compare
- 29 Côte d'Ivoire 38.6% compare
- 30 Gambia 37.5% compare
- 32 Cambodia 36.7% compare
- 33 El Salvador 36.4% compare
- 34 Togo 36.3% compare
More education data for Zimbabwe
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 42,585 (2013)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 12,514 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 328,055 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 322,698 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 957,461 (2013)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.94 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.4866 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1767 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Zimbabwe?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Zimbabwe was 37.1% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 42.8% in 2003.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.5% in 2012.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper?
- Zimbabwe ranks 31st out of 175 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 34.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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 — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release