Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Jamaica
Jamaica: Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age was 18.9% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Jamaica, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Jamaica recorded 18.9% for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in 2025.
The figure is down 2.1% on the previous year and up 25.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Jamaica peaked at 27.4% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 12.6%, in 2010.
That places Jamaica 56th out of 206 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Jamaica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 16.7% | — |
| 2001 | 14.6% | -12.6% |
| 2002 | 13.5% | -7.5% |
| 2003 | 12.9% | -4.4% |
| 2004 | 13.7% | +6.2% |
| 2005 | 15.2% | +10.9% |
| 2006 | 16.5% | +8.6% |
| 2007 | 16.2% | -1.8% |
| 2008 | 14.7% | -9.3% |
| 2009 | 12.9% | -12.2% |
| 2010 | 12.6% | -2.3% |
| 2011 | 13.7% | +8.7% |
| 2012 | 14.6% | +6.6% |
| 2013 | 14.4% | -1.4% |
| 2014 | 13.8% | -4.2% |
| 2015 | 15.1% | +9.4% |
| 2016 | 19.3% | +27.8% |
| 2017 | 24.7% | +28.0% |
| 2018 | 27.4% | +10.9% |
| 2019 | 25.7% | -6.2% |
| 2020 | 21.5% | -16.3% |
| 2021 | 19.3% | -10.2% |
| 2022 | 19.2% | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 19.6% | +2.1% |
| 2024 | 19.3% | -1.5% |
| 2025 | 18.9% | -2.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 14.7% | 12.9% | 16.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 18.1% | 12.6% | 27.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.6% | 18.9% | 21.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
More education data for Jamaica
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 11,043 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 4,597 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 52,983 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 51,265 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 177,095 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 211,097 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 8.14 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0744 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Jamaica?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Jamaica was 18.9% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 27.4% in 2018.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.6% in 2010.
- How does Jamaica rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- Jamaica ranks 56th out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 25.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Jamaica 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, male (modelled data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release