Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in South Asia
South Asia: Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age was 15.7% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in South Asia, 1999–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2019, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in South Asia stood at 15.7%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.9% on the previous year and down 42.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in South Asia peaked at 41.2% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 15.5%, in 2018.
That places South Asia 16th 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 21 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in South Asia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 41.2% | — |
| 2000 | 40.6% | -1.6% |
| 2001 | 40.7% | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 39.5% | -2.8% |
| 2003 | 35.9% | -9.3% |
| 2004 | 34.2% | -4.6% |
| 2005 | 32.8% | -4.3% |
| 2006 | 31.0% | -5.5% |
| 2007 | 28.9% | -6.6% |
| 2008 | 27.8% | -3.9% |
| 2009 | 27.5% | -1.1% |
| 2010 | 25.1% | -8.5% |
| 2011 | 23.7% | -5.6% |
| 2012 | 21.6% | -9.0% |
| 2013 | 20.3% | -5.7% |
| 2014 | 19.9% | -2.3% |
| 2015 | 17.4% | -12.3% |
| 2016 | 16.9% | -2.9% |
| 2017 | 15.7% | -7.0% |
| 2018 | 15.5% | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 15.7% | +0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 41.2% | 41.2% | 41.2% | 1 |
| 2000s | 33.9% | 27.5% | 40.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.2% | 15.5% | 25.1% | 10 |
Countries ranked near South Asia
More education data for South Asia
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 4.5 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 5.84 million (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 24.6% (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 68.1% (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0959 units per person (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 160.82 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 152.88 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in South Asia?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in South Asia was 15.7% 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 South Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 41.2% in 1999.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in South Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.5% in 2018.
- How does South Asia rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- South Asia ranks 16th out of 45 groups with data for 2019.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age rising or falling in South Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 42.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Asia 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.