Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zambia
Zambia: Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age was 17.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zambia, 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 Zambia is 17.0%, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 6.6% on the previous year and down 8.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zambia peaked at 33.6% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 11.9%, in 2011.
Zambia ranks 58th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
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 Zambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 33.6% | — |
| 2001 | 33.3% | -0.9% |
| 2002 | 33.3% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 31.6% | -5.1% |
| 2004 | 27.5% | -13.0% |
| 2005 | 23.2% | -15.6% |
| 2006 | 20.1% | -13.4% |
| 2007 | 18.3% | -9.0% |
| 2008 | 16.6% | -9.3% |
| 2009 | 14.9% | -10.2% |
| 2010 | 13.0% | -12.8% |
| 2011 | 11.9% | -8.5% |
| 2012 | 12.3% | +3.4% |
| 2013 | 14.1% | +14.6% |
| 2014 | 16.6% | +17.7% |
| 2015 | 18.5% | +11.4% |
| 2016 | 19.4% | +4.9% |
| 2017 | 19.8% | +2.1% |
| 2018 | 20.5% | +3.5% |
| 2019 | 21.6% | +5.4% |
| 2020 | 23.1% | +6.9% |
| 2021 | 23.1% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 21.8% | -5.6% |
| 2023 | 20.0% | -8.3% |
| 2024 | 18.2% | -9.0% |
| 2025 | 17.0% | -6.6% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 17.0% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 14.4%, 1.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 17.0% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 34.3%, 50% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 25.2% | 14.9% | 33.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.8% | 11.9% | 21.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.5% | 17.0% | 23.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More education data for Zambia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 42,585 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 169,961 (2013)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.39 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.49 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.55 % change on previous year (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.2106 units per person (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 4.49 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zambia?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zambia was 17.0% 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 33.6% in 2000.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.9% in 2011.
- How does Zambia rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- Zambia ranks 58th out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia 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