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 19.4% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Latest (2020)
19.4%
Change on year
down 5.4%
World rank
37th
of 171 countries
All-time high
29.5%
in 2018
All-time low
19.4%
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 19.4% 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.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.4% on the previous year and down 32.2% over ten years.
That places Sierra Leone 37th 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 | 28.7% | — |
| 2015 | 26.1% | -9.0% |
| 2017 | 25.5% | -2.2% |
| 2018 | 29.5% | +15.4% |
| 2019 | 20.6% | -30.3% |
| 2020 | 19.4% | -5.4% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 19.4% is below the median for low income countries, which is 41.5%, 47% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 19.4% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 23.5%, 83% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 26.1% | 20.6% | 29.5% | 5 |
| 2020s | 19.4% | 19.4% | 19.4% | 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 19.4% 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 29.5% 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 19.4% in 2020.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary?
- Sierra Leone ranks 37th 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 32.2%. 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, female (%). 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