Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary was 21.9% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Latest (2020)
21.9%
Change on year
down 1.7%
World rank
38th
of 171 countries
All-time high
31.4%
in 2018
All-time low
21.9%
in 2020
Years of data
6
2013–2020
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Sierra Leone, 2013–2020
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sierra Leone recorded 21.9% for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 6 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.7% on the previous year and down 20.7% over ten years.
That places Sierra Leone 38th out of 171 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 27.6% | — |
| 2015 | 26.4% | -4.3% |
| 2017 | 27.4% | +3.9% |
| 2018 | 31.4% | +14.3% |
| 2019 | 22.3% | -29.0% |
| 2020 | 21.9% | -1.7% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 21.9% is below the median for low income countries, which is 38.1%, 57% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 21.9% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 25.6%, 86% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 27.0% | 22.3% | 31.4% | 5 |
| 2020s | 21.9% | 21.9% | 21.9% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More education data for Sierra Leone
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 38,043 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 73,295 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 85,708 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 92,723 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.16 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.07 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.52 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.2393 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Sierra Leone?
- Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Sierra Leone was 21.9% in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 31.4% in 2018.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.9% in 2020.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary?
- Sierra Leone ranks 38th out of 171 countries with data for 2020.
- Is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary, lower secondary and upper secondary school age, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 6 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release