Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Canada
Canada: Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary was 6.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Canada, 2012–2023
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 Canada is 6.7%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 12 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 8.5% on the previous year and up 80.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Canada peaked at 6.7% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 2.6%, in 2018.
That places Canada 94th out of 171 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 12 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Canada, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 3.8% | — |
| 2013 | 3.7% | -2.8% |
| 2014 | 3.8% | +3.1% |
| 2015 | 3.8% | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 3.2% | -17.1% |
| 2017 | 2.9% | -9.0% |
| 2018 | 2.6% | -8.1% |
| 2019 | 5.0% | +88.3% |
| 2020 | 5.1% | +3.1% |
| 2021 | 5.7% | +12.0% |
| 2022 | 6.2% | +7.9% |
| 2023 | 6.7% | +8.5% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 6.7% is above the median for high income countries, which is 3.0%, 2.2× the median. (65 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 3.6% | 2.6% | 5.0% | 8 |
| 2020s | 5.9% | 5.1% | 6.7% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More education data for Canada
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 133,275 (1996)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2011)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 291,075 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 273,465 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.70 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.43 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.83 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0607 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Canada?
- Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Canada was 6.7% 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 Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 6.7% in 2023.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.6% in 2018.
- How does Canada rank for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary?
- Canada ranks 94th out of 171 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 80.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada 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, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release