Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age was 54.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
54.2%
Change on year
up 3.4%
World rank
10th
of 162 countries
All-time high
74.6%
in 1999
All-time low
43.4%
in 2012
Years of data
19
1999–2024
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Ethiopia, 1999–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Ethiopia recorded 54.2% for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in 2024.
The figure is up 3.4% on the previous year and up 8.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Ethiopia peaked at 74.6% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 43.4%, in 2012.
Ethiopia ranks 10th of 162 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 19 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 74.6% | — |
| 2000 | 73.2% | -1.8% |
| 2001 | 71.0% | -3.0% |
| 2002 | 68.7% | -3.2% |
| 2003 | 67.0% | -2.5% |
| 2004 | 64.5% | -3.7% |
| 2005 | 61.0% | -5.4% |
| 2006 | 56.3% | -7.8% |
| 2007 | 53.3% | -5.4% |
| 2008 | 50.7% | -4.8% |
| 2009 | 49.9% | -1.5% |
| 2010 | 46.5% | -6.9% |
| 2011 | 46.3% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 43.4% | -6.4% |
| 2014 | 50.0% | +15.3% |
| 2015 | 50.6% | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 51.4% | +1.7% |
| 2023 | 52.4% | +1.9% |
| 2024 | 54.2% | +3.4% |
Ethiopia compared with similar countries
- Ethiopia's 54.2% is above the median for low income countries, which is 43.3%, 1.3× the median. (17 countries reporting)
- Ethiopia's 54.2% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 28.7%, 1.9× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 74.6% | 74.6% | 74.6% | 1 |
| 2000s | 61.6% | 49.9% | 73.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 47.4% | 43.4% | 50.6% | 5 |
| 2020s | 52.7% | 51.4% | 54.2% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
- 7 Tokelau 59.0% compare
- 8 Senegal 58.5% compare
- 9 Burkina Faso 55.5% compare
- 11 Cameroon 49.0% compare
- 12 Syrian Arab Republic 48.5% compare
- 13 Cape Verde 48.2% compare
More education data for Ethiopia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 272,545 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 900,151 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 2.32 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 2.16 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 5.03 million (2015)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 15.93 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.45 % 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 0.1206 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Ethiopia?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Ethiopia was 54.2% 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 Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 74.6% in 1999.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 43.4% in 2012.
- How does Ethiopia rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- Ethiopia ranks 10th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ethiopia 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, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release