Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zambia
Zambia: Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age was 15.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zambia, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zambia is 15.5%, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 7.7% on the previous year and down 5.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zambia peaked at 27.2% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 10.1%, in 2011.
That places Zambia 62nd out of 206 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 27.2% | — |
| 2001 | 26.6% | -2.2% |
| 2002 | 26.9% | +1.1% |
| 2003 | 25.6% | -4.8% |
| 2004 | 22.0% | -14.1% |
| 2005 | 18.2% | -17.3% |
| 2006 | 15.8% | -13.2% |
| 2007 | 14.7% | -7.0% |
| 2008 | 13.6% | -7.5% |
| 2009 | 12.3% | -9.6% |
| 2010 | 10.9% | -11.4% |
| 2011 | 10.1% | -7.3% |
| 2012 | 10.5% | +4.0% |
| 2013 | 12.2% | +16.2% |
| 2014 | 14.7% | +20.5% |
| 2015 | 16.4% | +11.6% |
| 2016 | 17.0% | +3.7% |
| 2017 | 17.2% | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 17.9% | +4.1% |
| 2019 | 19.5% | +8.9% |
| 2020 | 21.5% | +10.3% |
| 2021 | 21.8% | +1.4% |
| 2022 | 20.5% | -6.0% |
| 2023 | 18.5% | -9.8% |
| 2024 | 16.8% | -9.2% |
| 2025 | 15.5% | -7.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 20.3% | 12.3% | 27.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.6% | 10.1% | 19.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.1% | 15.5% | 21.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More education data for Zambia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 42,585 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 169,961 (2013)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.39 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.49 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.55 % change on previous year (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.2106 units per person (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 4.49 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zambia?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Zambia was 15.5% 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 27.2% in 2000.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.1% in 2011.
- How does Zambia rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- Zambia ranks 62nd out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia 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.
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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