Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age was 11.7% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zimbabwe, 1999–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zimbabwe stood at 11.7%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 9.3% on the previous year and up 10.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zimbabwe peaked at 25.8% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 10.3%, in 2013.
That places Zimbabwe 59th out of 162 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 18 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 25.8% | — |
| 2000 | 23.6% | -8.3% |
| 2001 | 15.9% | -32.9% |
| 2002 | 15.1% | -4.7% |
| 2003 | 19.8% | +31.1% |
| 2012 | 11.0% | -44.4% |
| 2013 | 10.3% | -6.2% |
| 2014 | 10.5% | +1.7% |
| 2015 | 20.0% | +90.6% |
| 2016 | 23.4% | +16.7% |
| 2017 | 23.9% | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 25.1% | +4.9% |
| 2019 | 24.0% | -4.5% |
| 2020 | 24.1% | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 11.7% | -51.5% |
| 2022 | 16.7% | +42.7% |
| 2023 | 12.9% | -22.8% |
| 2024 | 11.7% | -9.3% |
Zimbabwe compared with similar countries
- Zimbabwe's 11.7% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 12.9%, 90% of the median. (39 countries reporting)
- Zimbabwe's 11.7% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 28.7%, 41% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zimbabwe changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | +90.6% | 10.5% | 20.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 25.8% | 25.8% | 25.8% | 1 |
| 2000s | 18.6% | 15.1% | 23.6% | 4 |
| 2010s | 18.5% | 10.3% | 25.1% | 8 |
| 2020s | 15.4% | 11.7% | 24.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
More education data for Zimbabwe
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 42,585 (2013)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 12,514 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 328,055 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 322,698 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 957,461 (2013)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.94 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.4866 % 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 0.1767 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zimbabwe?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zimbabwe was 11.7% 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 Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 25.8% in 1999.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.3% in 2013.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- Zimbabwe ranks 59th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release