Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Hong Kong

Hong Kong: Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower was 3.7% in 2021. ▼ Falling

Latest (2021)
3.7%
Change on year
up 48.2%
World rank
99th
of 169 countries
All-time high
5.4%
in 2001
All-time low
1.2%
in 2019
Years of data
16
2001–2021

Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Hong Kong, 2001–2021

123452001201120212001: 5.4 %2002: 5 %2003: 4.5 %2004: 4.5 %2005: 4.5 %2006: 3.4 %2007: 3.6 %2008: 2.6 %2009: 2.6 %2010: 2.5 %2011: 2 %2012: 1.5 %2017: 2.2 %2019: 1.2 %2020: 2.5 %2021: 3.7 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2021, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Hong Kong stood at 3.7%.

That represents a change of up 48.2% on the previous year and up 89.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Hong Kong peaked at 5.4% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 1.2%, in 2019.

Hong Kong ranks 99th of 169 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.

Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Hong Kong, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, female (%) in Hong Kong, 2001 to 2021.
Year % Change
2001 5.4%
2002 5.0% -7.1%
2003 4.5% -11.6%
2004 4.5% +2.0%
2005 4.5% -1.9%
2006 3.4% -23.2%
2007 3.6% +5.5%
2008 2.6% -28.6%
2009 2.6% +1.0%
2010 2.5% -3.8%
2011 2.0% -22.1%
2012 1.5% -23.1%
2017 2.2% +45.1%
2019 1.2% -45.8%
2020 2.5% +111.6%
2021 3.7% +48.2%

Hong Kong compared with similar countries

  • Hong Kong's 3.7% is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.2%, 1.7× the median. (64 countries reporting)
  • Hong Kong's 3.7% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.6%, 1.0× the median. (24 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 4.0% 2.6% 5.4% 9
2010s 1.9% 1.2% 2.5% 5
2020s 3.1% 2.5% 3.7% 2

Countries ranked near Hong Kong

  1. 96 Egypt 4.3% compare
  2. 97 Cook Islands 4.0% compare
  3. 98 Uzbekistan 3.8% compare
  4. 100 Canada 3.6% compare
  5. 101 Cayman Islands 3.5% compare
  6. 102 Vanuatu 3.5% compare

See the full ranking of 169 places →

More education data for Hong Kong

All data for Hong Kong →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Hong Kong?
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Hong Kong was 3.7% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Hong Kong?
The highest recorded value was 5.4% in 2001.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Hong Kong?
The lowest recorded value was 1.2% in 2019.
How does Hong Kong rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
Hong Kong ranks 99th out of 169 countries with data for 2021.
Is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower rising or falling in Hong Kong?
Over the last ten years it is up 89.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Hong Kong 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.

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Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Hong Kong. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 18 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-children-and-adolescents-of-primary-and-lower-secondary-school-age-6/hong-kong-sar-china/

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About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, female (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
169 places, 2,667 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release