Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age was 12.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zimbabwe, 1999–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Zimbabwe recorded 12.9% for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 8.3% on the previous year and up 62.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zimbabwe peaked at 25.2% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 7.9%, in 2013.
That places Zimbabwe 60th out of 183 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 19.5% | — |
| 2000 | 18.0% | -7.9% |
| 2001 | 9.5% | -47.3% |
| 2002 | 10.4% | +9.8% |
| 2003 | 15.1% | +45.6% |
| 2012 | 8.5% | -43.8% |
| 2013 | 7.9% | -7.1% |
| 2014 | 8.0% | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 18.5% | +132.9% |
| 2016 | 22.5% | +21.5% |
| 2017 | 23.6% | +4.9% |
| 2018 | 25.1% | +6.1% |
| 2019 | 24.4% | -2.8% |
| 2020 | 25.2% | +3.3% |
| 2021 | 12.0% | -52.3% |
| 2022 | 17.4% | +44.7% |
| 2023 | 14.1% | -18.9% |
| 2024 | 12.9% | -8.3% |
Zimbabwe compared with similar countries
- Zimbabwe's 12.9% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 13.7%, 94% of the median. (40 countries reporting)
- Zimbabwe's 12.9% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 29.3%, 44% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zimbabwe changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | +132.9% | 8.0% | 18.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 19.5% | 19.5% | 19.5% | 1 |
| 2000s | 13.2% | 9.5% | 18.0% | 4 |
| 2010s | 17.3% | 7.9% | 25.1% | 8 |
| 2020s | 16.3% | 12.0% | 25.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
- 57 Timor-Leste 13.5% compare
- 58 Philippines 13.1% compare
- 59 Mauritius 13.0% compare
- 61 Saint Lucia 12.5% compare
- 62 Tuvalu 12.2% compare
- 63 Niue 12.1% compare
More education data for Zimbabwe
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 42,585 (2013)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 12,514 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 328,055 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 322,698 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 957,461 (2013)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.94 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.4866 % 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 0.1767 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zimbabwe?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zimbabwe was 12.9% 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 Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 25.2% in 2020.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.9% in 2013.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- Zimbabwe ranks 60th out of 183 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 62.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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 — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release