Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Arab World
Arab World: Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age was 17.8% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Arab World, 1984–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2019, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Arab World stood at 17.8%. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of down 4.6% on the previous year and down 13.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Arab World peaked at 37.7% in 1984 and was at its lowest, 17.8%, in 2019.
Arab World ranks 11th of 45 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Arab World, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 37.7% | — |
| 1985 | 34.0% | -10.0% |
| 1986 | 34.9% | +2.7% |
| 1987 | 33.4% | -4.1% |
| 1988 | 33.5% | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 33.8% | +0.7% |
| 1990 | 34.6% | +2.4% |
| 1991 | 33.8% | -2.1% |
| 1992 | 34.1% | +0.7% |
| 1993 | 32.8% | -3.7% |
| 1994 | 34.0% | +3.6% |
| 1995 | 33.2% | -2.3% |
| 1996 | 31.7% | -4.6% |
| 1997 | 30.7% | -3.0% |
| 1998 | 30.0% | -2.4% |
| 1999 | 28.8% | -3.8% |
| 2000 | 27.8% | -3.7% |
| 2001 | 27.0% | -2.8% |
| 2002 | 26.0% | -3.7% |
| 2003 | 25.1% | -3.5% |
| 2004 | 24.0% | -4.3% |
| 2005 | 23.0% | -4.2% |
| 2006 | 22.8% | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 22.5% | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 21.8% | -3.1% |
| 2009 | 20.5% | -5.9% |
| 2010 | 20.3% | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 20.3% | -0.0% |
| 2012 | 19.2% | -5.5% |
| 2013 | 21.9% | +14.1% |
| 2014 | 20.9% | -4.5% |
| 2015 | 20.2% | -3.6% |
| 2016 | 19.6% | -3.1% |
| 2017 | 19.6% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 18.6% | -5.0% |
| 2019 | 17.8% | -4.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 34.6% | 33.4% | 37.7% | 6 |
| 1990s | 32.4% | 28.8% | 34.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 24.0% | 20.5% | 27.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.8% | 17.8% | 21.9% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Arab World
- 8 Burkina Faso 46.1% compare
- 9 Côte d'Ivoire 44.4% compare
- 10 Mozambique 43.1% compare
- 11 Syrian Arab Republic 38.1% compare
- 12 Honduras 37.6% compare
- 13 Cameroon 36.7% compare
- 14 Eritrea 36.1% compare
More education data for Arab World
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 2.58 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 40.79 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 55.62 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.7891 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1129 units per person (2024)
- Population ages 15-64 63.3% (2025)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 32.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Arab World?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Arab World was 17.8% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Arab World?
- The highest recorded value was 37.7% in 1984.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Arab World?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.8% in 2019.
- How does Arab World rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- Arab World ranks 11th out of 45 groups with data for 2019.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age rising or falling in Arab World?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Arab World 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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About this data
Number of adolescents of official lower secondary school age who are not enrolled in lower secondary school expressed as a percentage of the population of official lower secondary school age.