Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)

Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income): Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age was 6.6% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
6.6%
Change on year
down 2.1%
Rank
33rd
of 45 groups
All-time high
12.9%
in 1989
All-time low
5.2%
in 2009
Years of data
34
1986–2019

Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income), 1986–2019

0510151986200220191986: 10.6 %1987: 10.7 %1988: 10.9 %1989: 12.9 %1990: 11.8 %1991: 11.7 %1992: 11.5 %1993: 11.3 %1994: 11.5 %1995: 11 %1996: 10.7 %1997: 10.8 %1998: 10.5 %1999: 10.3 %2000: 10 %2001: 9.6 %2002: 8.8 %2003: 8 %2004: 8.7 %2005: 7.9 %2006: 7.2 %2007: 7.1 %2008: 5.5 %2009: 5.2 %2010: 5.6 %2011: 6.1 %2012: 7.3 %2013: 5.8 %2014: 6.3 %2015: 6.3 %2016: 6.1 %2017: 7.3 %2018: 6.8 %2019: 6.6 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2019, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) stood at 6.6%.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.1% on the previous year and up 28.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) peaked at 12.9% in 1989 and was at its lowest, 5.2%, in 2009.

Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) ranks 33rd of 45 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.

Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income), year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age, both sexes (%) in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income), 1986 to 2019.
Year % Change
1986 10.6%
1987 10.7% +0.8%
1988 10.9% +2.3%
1989 12.9% +18.0%
1990 11.8% -8.5%
1991 11.7% -1.0%
1992 11.5% -1.6%
1993 11.3% -1.3%
1994 11.5% +1.6%
1995 11.0% -4.7%
1996 10.7% -2.3%
1997 10.8% +0.4%
1998 10.5% -2.4%
1999 10.3% -2.0%
2000 10.0% -3.2%
2001 9.6% -3.4%
2002 8.8% -9.1%
2003 8.0% -8.6%
2004 8.7% +8.3%
2005 7.9% -9.4%
2006 7.2% -8.6%
2007 7.1% -0.9%
2008 5.5% -23.3%
2009 5.2% -5.5%
2010 5.6% +8.3%
2011 6.1% +8.7%
2012 7.3% +19.3%
2013 5.8% -19.8%
2014 6.3% +8.0%
2015 6.3% -0.2%
2016 6.1% -2.5%
2017 7.3% +20.2%
2018 6.8% -7.6%
2019 6.6% -2.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 11.3% 10.6% 12.9% 4
1990s 11.1% 10.3% 11.8% 10
2000s 7.8% 5.2% 10.0% 10
2010s 6.4% 5.6% 7.3% 10

Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)

  1. 30 Turks and Caicos Islands 19.6% compare
  2. 31 Puerto Rico 19.6% compare
  3. 32 Malawi 18.6% compare
  4. 33 Jamaica 17.9% compare
  5. 34 Lesotho 17.4% compare
  6. 35 El Salvador 17.0% compare
  7. 36 Indonesia 16.3% compare

See the full ranking of 195 places →

More education data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)

All data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) was 6.6% 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 Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
The highest recorded value was 12.9% in 1989.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
The lowest recorded value was 5.2% in 2009.
How does Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) ranks 33rd out of 45 groups with data for 2019.
Is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
Over the last ten years it is up 28.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) 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 — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income). Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 18 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-adolescents-of-lower-secondary-school-age-both-sexes-percent/latin-america-and-caribbean-excluding-high-income/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-adolescents-of-lower-secondary-school-age-both-sexes-percent/latin-america-and-caribbean-excluding-high-income/">Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age, both sexes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
195 places, 3,656 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

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.