Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary was 2.2% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in United Kingdom, 2000–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in United Kingdom is 2.2%, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of up 9.3% on the previous year and down 21.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in United Kingdom peaked at 5.7% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 1.4%, in 2017.
United Kingdom ranks 151st of 171 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.7% | — |
| 2001 | 3.5% | -4.9% |
| 2002 | 2.9% | -17.6% |
| 2003 | 3.0% | +4.8% |
| 2004 | 2.0% | -33.5% |
| 2005 | 2.1% | +4.3% |
| 2006 | 4.5% | +113.6% |
| 2007 | 5.7% | +25.9% |
| 2008 | 3.8% | -32.2% |
| 2009 | 3.1% | -19.1% |
| 2010 | 2.3% | -26.7% |
| 2011 | 3.8% | +65.4% |
| 2012 | 4.8% | +29.0% |
| 2013 | 2.8% | -43.1% |
| 2014 | 1.6% | -42.7% |
| 2015 | 1.5% | -5.3% |
| 2017 | 1.4% | -6.5% |
| 2018 | 1.9% | +32.7% |
| 2019 | 2.0% | +8.2% |
| 2020 | 2.1% | +3.6% |
| 2021 | 2.0% | -4.0% |
| 2022 | 2.0% | -1.3% |
| 2023 | 2.2% | +9.3% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 2.2% is below the median for high income countries, which is 3.6%, 60% of the median. (65 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 2.2% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 3.7%, 58% of the median. (49 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.4% | 2.0% | 5.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.4% | 1.4% | 4.8% | 9 |
| 2020s | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More education data for United Kingdom
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 388,714 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2012)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 830,495 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 790,556 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.40 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.86 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.0111 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.071 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in United Kingdom?
- Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in United Kingdom was 2.2% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 5.7% in 2007.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.4% in 2017.
- How does United Kingdom rank for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary?
- United Kingdom ranks 151st out of 171 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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.
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CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release