Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age was 49.9% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
49.9%
Change on year
down 1.4%
World rank
10th
of 206 countries
All-time high
64.4%
in 2000
All-time low
40.9%
in 2014
Years of data
26
2000–2025
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Ethiopia, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Ethiopia is 49.9%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.4% on the previous year and up 20.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Ethiopia peaked at 64.4% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 40.9%, in 2014.
Ethiopia ranks 10th of 206 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 64.4% | — |
| 2001 | 61.8% | -4.0% |
| 2002 | 58.4% | -5.5% |
| 2003 | 55.0% | -5.8% |
| 2004 | 52.2% | -5.1% |
| 2005 | 50.1% | -4.0% |
| 2006 | 48.6% | -3.0% |
| 2007 | 47.5% | -2.3% |
| 2008 | 46.6% | -1.9% |
| 2009 | 45.8% | -1.7% |
| 2010 | 45.0% | -1.7% |
| 2011 | 43.9% | -2.4% |
| 2012 | 42.7% | -2.7% |
| 2013 | 41.6% | -2.6% |
| 2014 | 40.9% | -1.7% |
| 2015 | 41.4% | +1.2% |
| 2016 | 42.4% | +2.4% |
| 2017 | 43.6% | +2.8% |
| 2018 | 44.4% | +1.8% |
| 2019 | 45.2% | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 45.6% | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 46.8% | +2.6% |
| 2022 | 48.9% | +4.5% |
| 2023 | 50.1% | +2.5% |
| 2024 | 50.6% | +1.0% |
| 2025 | 49.9% | -1.4% |
Ethiopia compared with similar countries
- Ethiopia's 49.9% is above the median for low income countries, which is 45.1%, 1.1× the median. (24 countries reporting)
- Ethiopia's 49.9% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 34.3%, 1.5× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 53.0% | 45.8% | 64.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 43.1% | 40.9% | 45.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 48.6% | 45.6% | 50.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
- 7 Burkina Faso 54.2% compare
- 8 Liberia 53.3% compare
- 9 South Sudan 53.2% compare
- 11 Djibouti 48.8% compare
- 12 Madagascar 47.9% compare
- 13 Mozambique 47.6% compare
More education data for Ethiopia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 272,545 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 900,151 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 2.32 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 2.16 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 5.03 million (2015)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 15.93 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.45 % 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 0.1206 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Ethiopia?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Ethiopia was 49.9% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 64.4% in 2000.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 40.9% in 2014.
- How does Ethiopia rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- Ethiopia ranks 10th out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ethiopia 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 (modelled data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release