Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in New Zealand
New Zealand: Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower was 2.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in New Zealand, 2013–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in New Zealand stood at 2.5%. That is the highest value across all 11 years on record.
The figure is up 9.3% on the previous year and up 54.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in New Zealand peaked at 2.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.0%, in 2019.
New Zealand ranks 117th of 181 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 1.6% | — |
| 2014 | 1.6% | +3.2% |
| 2015 | 1.7% | +2.2% |
| 2016 | 1.5% | -10.6% |
| 2018 | 1.3% | -14.0% |
| 2019 | 1.0% | -19.3% |
| 2020 | 1.3% | +29.6% |
| 2021 | 1.4% | +8.2% |
| 2022 | 2.5% | +73.4% |
| 2023 | 2.3% | -8.5% |
| 2024 | 2.5% | +9.3% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 2.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.8%, 1.4× the median. (69 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 2.5% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.9%, 65% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 1.4% | 1.0% | 1.7% | 6 |
| 2020s | 2.0% | 1.3% | 2.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More education data for New Zealand
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 36,426 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 12,020 (1992)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 56,552 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 53,804 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 562,417 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 383,018 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.15 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0724 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in New Zealand?
- Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in New Zealand was 2.5% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 2.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.0% in 2019.
- How does New Zealand rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
- New Zealand ranks 117th out of 181 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 54.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand 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 — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release