Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age was 6.5% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Sri Lanka, 2010–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 6.5% for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in 2023.
That represents a change of up 16.7% on the previous year and down 17.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Sri Lanka peaked at 10.9% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 4.4%, in 2021.
Sri Lanka ranks 89th of 183 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 10.9% | — |
| 2011 | 10.2% | -6.3% |
| 2012 | 8.9% | -12.7% |
| 2013 | 7.9% | -11.6% |
| 2015 | 5.4% | -31.9% |
| 2016 | 6.3% | +17.5% |
| 2017 | 5.9% | -6.2% |
| 2018 | 5.2% | -11.9% |
| 2021 | 4.4% | -15.6% |
| 2022 | 5.6% | +27.0% |
| 2023 | 6.5% | +16.7% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 6.5% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 7.5%, 88% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 6.5% is below the median for South Asia, which is 9.8%, 67% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 7.6% | 5.2% | 10.9% | 8 |
| 2020s | 5.5% | 4.4% | 6.5% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More education data for Sri Lanka
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 155,543 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 224,799 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 214,300 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.54 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.58 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.89 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0715 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Sri Lanka?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Sri Lanka was 6.5% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 10.9% in 2010.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.4% in 2021.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- Sri Lanka ranks 89th out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release