Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)

Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries): 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 3.1%
Rank
34th
of 45 groups
All-time high
11.0%
in 1998
All-time low
4.8%
in 2009
Years of data
22
1998–2019

Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries), 1998–2019

02.557.5101998200820191998: 11 %1999: 10.7 %2000: 10.3 %2001: 9.9 %2002: 9 %2003: 8.3 %2004: 7.4 %2005: 7.3 %2006: 6.7 %2007: 7.2 %2008: 4.9 %2009: 4.8 %2010: 5.3 %2011: 6.1 %2012: 7.3 %2013: 5.3 %2014: 5.5 %2015: 6.1 %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 & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) stood at 6.6%.

That represents a change of down 3.1% on the previous year and up 37.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) peaked at 11.0% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 4.8%, in 2009.

That places Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) 34th out of 45 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.

Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries), year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age, female (%) in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries), 1998 to 2019.
Year % Change
1998 11.0%
1999 10.7% -3.3%
2000 10.3% -3.3%
2001 9.9% -4.3%
2002 9.0% -8.5%
2003 8.3% -8.1%
2004 7.4% -11.2%
2005 7.3% -0.5%
2006 6.7% -9.0%
2007 7.2% +7.8%
2008 4.9% -31.8%
2009 4.8% -2.8%
2010 5.3% +11.0%
2011 6.1% +14.6%
2012 7.3% +20.0%
2013 5.3% -27.6%
2014 5.5% +5.1%
2015 6.1% +10.7%
2016 6.1% +0.3%
2017 7.3% +18.4%
2018 6.8% -7.1%
2019 6.6% -3.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 10.9% 10.7% 11.0% 2
2000s 7.6% 4.8% 10.3% 10
2010s 6.2% 5.3% 7.3% 10

Countries ranked near Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)

  1. 31 El Salvador 17.2% compare
  2. 32 Jamaica 17.0% compare
  3. 33 Moldova 16.5% compare
  4. 34 Puerto Rico 15.7% compare
  5. 35 Paraguay 15.0% compare
  6. 36 Cambodia 14.1% compare
  7. 37 Bolivia 13.8% compare

See the full ranking of 179 places →

More education data for Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)

All data for Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)?
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) 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 & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)?
The highest recorded value was 11.0% in 1998.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)?
The lowest recorded value was 4.8% in 2009.
How does Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 34th 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 & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)?
Over the last ten years it is up 37.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) 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 — 22 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 & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries). 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-female-percent/latin-america-and-the-caribbean-ida-and-ibrd-countries/

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-female-percent/latin-america-and-the-caribbean-ida-and-ibrd-countries/">Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age, female (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
179 places, 3,006 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Number of females of official lower secondary school age who are not enrolled in lower secondary school expressed as a percentage of the female population of official lower secondary school age.