Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower was 0.6% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Saudi Arabia, 1979–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Saudi Arabia stood at 0.6%. That is the lowest value across all 9 years on record.
That represents a change of down 73.0% on the previous year and down 88.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Saudi Arabia peaked at 32.6% in 1979 and was at its lowest, 0.6%, in 2024.
That places Saudi Arabia 163rd out of 181 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 32.6% | — |
| 2013 | 7.5% | -77.0% |
| 2014 | 4.7% | -36.8% |
| 2015 | 3.4% | -29.0% |
| 2016 | 2.9% | -14.2% |
| 2020 | 1.7% | -39.5% |
| 2021 | 2.7% | +54.3% |
| 2022 | 2.1% | -22.9% |
| 2024 | 0.6% | -73.0% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 0.6% is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.8%, 32% of the median. (69 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 0.6% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 6.3%, 9% of the median. (20 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 32.6% | 32.6% | 32.6% | 1 |
| 2010s | 4.6% | 2.9% | 7.5% | 4 |
| 2020s | 1.8% | 0.6% | 2.7% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More education data for Saudi Arabia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 242,375 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 26,900 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 215,559 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 214,840 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.36 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.45 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.53 % change on previous year (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0976 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Saudi Arabia?
- Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Saudi Arabia was 0.6% 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 Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 32.6% in 1979.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6% in 2024.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 163rd 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 Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 88.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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 — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release