Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower was 1.27 GPIA in 2023. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in United Kingdom, 2000–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in United Kingdom is 1.27 GPIA, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 3.0% on the previous year and up 22.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in United Kingdom peaked at 1.31 GPIA in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.1493 GPIA, in 2001.
United Kingdom ranks 27th of 169 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0.7169 GPIA | — |
| 2001 | 0.1493 GPIA | -79.2% |
| 2003 | 0.2817 GPIA | +88.7% |
| 2004 | 0.8142 GPIA | +189.0% |
| 2005 | 0.3273 GPIA | -59.8% |
| 2006 | 0.4013 GPIA | +22.6% |
| 2007 | 0.7361 GPIA | +83.4% |
| 2008 | 1.04 GPIA | +41.3% |
| 2009 | 1.19 GPIA | +14.8% |
| 2010 | 1.21 GPIA | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 1.04 GPIA | -13.9% |
| 2012 | 0.9879 GPIA | -5.3% |
| 2013 | 1.04 GPIA | +4.9% |
| 2014 | 1.03 GPIA | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 0.944 GPIA | -8.5% |
| 2017 | 0.8034 GPIA | -14.9% |
| 2018 | 0.7682 GPIA | -4.4% |
| 2019 | 0.7593 GPIA | -1.2% |
| 2020 | 0.7383 GPIA | -2.8% |
| 2021 | 1.09 GPIA | +47.4% |
| 2022 | 1.31 GPIA | +20.0% |
| 2023 | 1.27 GPIA | -3.0% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 1.27 GPIA is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.9603 GPIA, 1.3× the median. (64 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 1.27 GPIA is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.01 GPIA, 1.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in United Kingdom changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | +189.0% | 0.2817 GPIA | 0.8142 GPIA |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.629 GPIA | 0.1493 GPIA | 1.19 GPIA | 9 |
| 2010s | 0.9539 GPIA | 0.7593 GPIA | 1.21 GPIA | 9 |
| 2020s | 1.1 GPIA | 0.7383 GPIA | 1.31 GPIA | 4 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
- 24 Central African Republic 1.28 GPIA compare
- 25 Mozambique 1.28 GPIA compare
- 26 Cameroon 1.27 GPIA compare
- 28 Chad 1.25 GPIA compare
- 29 Kazakhstan 1.24 GPIA compare
- 30 Yemen 1.23 GPIA compare
More education data for United Kingdom
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 388,714 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2012)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 830,495 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 790,556 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.40 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.86 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.0111 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.071 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in United Kingdom?
- Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in United Kingdom was 1.27 GPIA in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 1.31 GPIA in 2022.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1493 GPIA in 2001.
- How does United Kingdom rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
- United Kingdom ranks 27th out of 169 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 22.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release