Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in China
China: Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age was 6.7% in 2020. ▬ Flat
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in China, 2010–2020
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
China recorded 6.7% for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in 2020. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
The figure is up 150.4% on the previous year and up 36.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in China peaked at 6.7% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2.7%, in 2018.
That places China 26th out of 48 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in China, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 4.9% | — |
| 2012 | 5.7% | +17.9% |
| 2014 | 4.5% | -21.4% |
| 2018 | 2.7% | -41.0% |
| 2020 | 6.7% | +150.4% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 6.7% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 4.0%, 1.7× the median. (14 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 4.4% | 2.7% | 5.7% | 4 |
| 2020s | 6.7% | 6.7% | 6.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near China
More education data for China
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.41 million (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 7,020 (2021)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 21.58 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 19.36 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 97.98 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 108.57 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9587 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0771 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in China?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in China was 6.7% in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 6.7% in 2020.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.7% in 2018.
- How does China rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- China ranks 26th out of 48 countries with data for 2020.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 36.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age, both sexes (household survey data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 5 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release