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 54.8% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Ethiopia, 1999–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Ethiopia stood at 54.8%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.2% on the previous year and up 11.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Ethiopia peaked at 65.0% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 42.1%, in 2012.
That places Ethiopia 10th out of 183 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 19 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 65.0% | — |
| 2000 | 63.8% | -1.9% |
| 2001 | 61.0% | -4.5% |
| 2002 | 58.0% | -4.8% |
| 2003 | 55.8% | -3.9% |
| 2004 | 54.1% | -3.0% |
| 2005 | 51.5% | -4.8% |
| 2006 | 47.9% | -7.0% |
| 2007 | 46.1% | -3.7% |
| 2008 | 45.1% | -2.4% |
| 2009 | 46.5% | +3.1% |
| 2010 | 43.7% | -5.8% |
| 2011 | 44.2% | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 42.1% | -4.6% |
| 2014 | 48.9% | +16.2% |
| 2015 | 49.8% | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 51.1% | +2.5% |
| 2023 | 52.6% | +2.9% |
| 2024 | 54.8% | +4.2% |
Ethiopia compared with similar countries
- Ethiopia's 54.8% is above the median for low income countries, which is 39.7%, 1.4× the median. (17 countries reporting)
- Ethiopia's 54.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 29.3%, 1.9× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 65.0% | 65.0% | 65.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 53.0% | 45.1% | 63.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 45.7% | 42.1% | 49.8% | 5 |
| 2020s | 52.8% | 51.1% | 54.8% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
- 7 Burkina Faso 59.3% compare
- 8 Chad 58.6% compare
- 9 Mali 56.3% compare
- 11 Guinea 51.5% compare
- 12 Syrian Arab Republic 51.3% compare
- 13 Tanzania, United Republic of 51.0% 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 54.8% in 2024, 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 65.0% in 1999.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 42.1% in 2012.
- How does Ethiopia rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- Ethiopia ranks 10th out of 183 countries with data for 2024.
- 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 11.9%. 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 (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release