Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Latin America & Caribbean
Latin America & Caribbean: Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age was 6.7% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Latin America & Caribbean, 1986–2019
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 stood at 6.7%.
The figure is down 2.1% on the previous year and up 28.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 12.8% in 1989 and was at its lowest, 5.2%, in 2009.
That places Latin America & Caribbean 32nd out of 45 groups with data for 2019, putting it 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, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 10.6% | — |
| 1987 | 10.7% | +0.8% |
| 1988 | 10.9% | +2.2% |
| 1989 | 12.8% | +17.4% |
| 1990 | 11.8% | -8.3% |
| 1991 | 11.7% | -1.0% |
| 1992 | 11.5% | -1.6% |
| 1993 | 11.3% | -1.3% |
| 1994 | 11.5% | +1.7% |
| 1995 | 11.0% | -4.5% |
| 1996 | 10.8% | -2.2% |
| 1997 | 10.8% | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 10.5% | -2.4% |
| 1999 | 10.3% | -2.2% |
| 2000 | 10.0% | -3.4% |
| 2001 | 9.6% | -3.3% |
| 2002 | 8.8% | -8.8% |
| 2003 | 8.0% | -8.3% |
| 2004 | 8.6% | +7.4% |
| 2005 | 7.9% | -9.0% |
| 2006 | 7.2% | -8.5% |
| 2007 | 7.1% | -1.1% |
| 2008 | 5.5% | -22.6% |
| 2009 | 5.2% | -5.2% |
| 2010 | 5.6% | +7.4% |
| 2011 | 6.1% | +9.2% |
| 2012 | 7.3% | +18.5% |
| 2013 | 5.8% | -19.8% |
| 2014 | 6.3% | +7.5% |
| 2015 | 6.3% | -0.0% |
| 2016 | 6.2% | -1.4% |
| 2017 | 7.4% | +19.7% |
| 2018 | 6.8% | -7.2% |
| 2019 | 6.7% | -2.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 11.3% | 10.6% | 12.8% | 4 |
| 1990s | 11.1% | 10.3% | 11.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.8% | 5.2% | 10.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.4% | 5.6% | 7.4% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean
- 29 Cayman Islands 19.6% compare
- 30 Turks and Caicos Islands 19.6% compare
- 31 Puerto Rico 19.6% compare
- 32 Malawi 18.6% compare
- 33 Jamaica 17.9% compare
- 34 Lesotho 17.4% compare
- 35 El Salvador 17.0% compare
More education data for Latin America & Caribbean
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 3.34 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 63.30 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 61.44 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.1923 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0928 units per person (2024)
- Population ages 15-64 67.7% (2025)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 22.1% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Latin America & Caribbean was 6.7% 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?
- The highest recorded value was 12.8% in 1989.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.2% in 2009.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- Latin America & Caribbean ranks 32nd 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?
- Over the last ten years it is up 28.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean 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.