Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Lao People's Democratic Republic
Lao People's Democratic Republic: Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary was 32.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
32.5%
Change on year
up 1.8%
World rank
18th
of 171 countries
All-time high
52.9%
in 1992
All-time low
21.5%
in 2016
Years of data
30
1992–2025
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Lao People's Democratic Republic, 1992–2025
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 Lao People's Democratic Republic is 32.5%, measured in 2025.
The figure is up 1.8% on the previous year and up 50.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Lao People's Democratic Republic peaked at 52.9% in 1992 and was at its lowest, 21.5%, in 2016.
Lao People's Democratic Republic ranks 18th of 171 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 30 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Lao People's Democratic Republic, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 52.9% | — |
| 1997 | 42.6% | -19.5% |
| 1998 | 40.4% | -5.0% |
| 1999 | 39.8% | -1.7% |
| 2000 | 40.0% | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 40.2% | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 39.0% | -2.9% |
| 2003 | 36.5% | -6.4% |
| 2004 | 35.3% | -3.2% |
| 2005 | 34.9% | -1.2% |
| 2006 | 35.2% | +0.8% |
| 2007 | 33.8% | -3.9% |
| 2008 | 31.9% | -5.7% |
| 2009 | 28.6% | -10.3% |
| 2010 | 26.1% | -8.8% |
| 2011 | 28.6% | +9.6% |
| 2012 | 27.7% | -3.1% |
| 2013 | 25.7% | -7.3% |
| 2014 | 22.8% | -11.2% |
| 2015 | 21.6% | -5.4% |
| 2016 | 21.5% | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 21.8% | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 23.0% | +5.4% |
| 2019 | 24.1% | +5.2% |
| 2020 | 25.5% | +5.8% |
| 2021 | 26.6% | +4.1% |
| 2022 | 29.1% | +9.4% |
| 2023 | 30.7% | +5.5% |
| 2024 | 31.9% | +4.1% |
| 2025 | 32.5% | +1.8% |
Lao People's Democratic Republic compared with similar countries
- Lao People's Democratic Republic's 32.5% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 18.1%, 1.8× the median. (35 countries reporting)
- Lao People's Democratic Republic's 32.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 7.6%, 4.3× the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 43.9% | 39.8% | 52.9% | 4 |
| 2000s | 35.5% | 28.6% | 40.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.3% | 21.5% | 28.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 29.4% | 25.5% | 32.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Lao People's Democratic Republic
More education data for Lao People's Democratic Republic
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 35,584 (2022)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 16,396 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 116,303 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 115,863 (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 532,092 (2025)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 739,554 (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.0716 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0939 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Lao People's Democratic Republic?
- Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Lao People's Democratic Republic was 32.5% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in Lao People's Democratic Republic?
- The highest recorded value was 52.9% in 1992.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in Lao People's Democratic Republic?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.5% in 2016.
- How does Lao People's Democratic Republic rank for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary?
- Lao People's Democratic Republic ranks 18th out of 171 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary rising or falling in Lao People's Democratic Republic?
- Over the last ten years it is up 50.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lao People's Democratic Republic 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.
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CSV · JSON — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release