Out-of-school rate … Out-of-school adolescents lower secondary in Laos
Laos: Out-of-school rate … Out-of-school adolescents lower secondary was 21.6% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Laos, 1992–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Laos is 21.6%, measured in 2025.
The figure is up 1.2% on the previous year and up 85.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Laos peaked at 41.8% in 1992 and was at its lowest, 11.6%, in 2015.
That places Laos 27th out of 181 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 32 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate … Out-of-school adolescents lower secondary in Laos, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 41.8% | — |
| 1993 | 37.4% | -10.6% |
| 1994 | 33.8% | -9.4% |
| 1997 | 29.1% | -14.0% |
| 1998 | 26.6% | -8.5% |
| 1999 | 26.8% | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 26.8% | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 27.5% | +2.6% |
| 2002 | 25.7% | -6.4% |
| 2003 | 23.9% | -7.0% |
| 2004 | 23.4% | -2.4% |
| 2005 | 23.1% | -1.2% |
| 2006 | 22.9% | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 21.5% | -6.1% |
| 2008 | 19.2% | -10.6% |
| 2009 | 17.1% | -10.8% |
| 2010 | 17.3% | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 17.1% | -1.3% |
| 2012 | 16.0% | -6.0% |
| 2013 | 14.1% | -12.4% |
| 2014 | 11.8% | -15.8% |
| 2015 | 11.6% | -1.8% |
| 2016 | 13.5% | +16.1% |
| 2017 | 13.5% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 15.0% | +10.9% |
| 2019 | 15.9% | +6.4% |
| 2020 | 17.2% | +8.0% |
| 2021 | 17.9% | +4.2% |
| 2022 | 20.4% | +13.9% |
| 2023 | 20.7% | +1.8% |
| 2024 | 21.3% | +2.7% |
| 2025 | 21.6% | +1.2% |
Laos compared with similar countries
- Laos's 21.6% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 9.0%, 2.4× the median. (39 countries reporting)
- Laos's 21.6% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.9%, 5.6× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 32.6% | 26.6% | 41.8% | 6 |
| 2000s | 23.1% | 17.1% | 27.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.6% | 11.6% | 17.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.9% | 17.2% | 21.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Laos
More education data for Laos
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 89.6 (2025)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 89.64 (2025)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Laos?
- Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Laos was 21.6% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 41.8% in 1992.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.6% in 2015.
- How does Laos rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
- Laos ranks 27th out of 181 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is up 85.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Laos data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 32 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release