Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Gambia
Gambia: Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower was 8.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Gambia, 2006–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Gambia stood at 8.3%. That is the lowest value across all 19 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 17.9% on the previous year and down 70.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Gambia peaked at 39.9% in 2006 and was at its lowest, 8.3%, in 2025.
That places Gambia 61st out of 169 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 19 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Gambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 39.9% | — |
| 2007 | 37.1% | -7.1% |
| 2008 | 37.9% | +2.1% |
| 2010 | 36.3% | -4.1% |
| 2011 | 38.8% | +6.7% |
| 2012 | 35.8% | -7.7% |
| 2013 | 32.9% | -7.9% |
| 2014 | 31.1% | -5.5% |
| 2015 | 27.9% | -10.5% |
| 2016 | 26.1% | -6.2% |
| 2017 | 23.1% | -11.7% |
| 2018 | 20.1% | -12.8% |
| 2019 | 16.7% | -17.0% |
| 2020 | 14.2% | -14.7% |
| 2021 | 13.9% | -2.4% |
| 2022 | 12.8% | -8.1% |
| 2023 | 10.7% | -16.1% |
| 2024 | 10.1% | -5.3% |
| 2025 | 8.3% | -17.9% |
Gambia compared with similar countries
- Gambia's 8.3% is below the median for low income countries, which is 37.1%, 22% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
- Gambia's 8.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 19.1%, 44% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 38.3% | 37.1% | 39.9% | 3 |
| 2010s | 28.9% | 16.7% | 38.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.7% | 8.3% | 14.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Gambia
More education data for Gambia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 12,452 (2021)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 16,389 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 71,238 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 77,061 (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 369,783 (2021)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 442,901 (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.4 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1569 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Gambia?
- Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Gambia was 8.3% 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 Gambia?
- The highest recorded value was 39.9% in 2006.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Gambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.3% in 2025.
- How does Gambia rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
- Gambia ranks 61st out of 169 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower rising or falling in Gambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 70.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Gambia 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, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release