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 23.7% 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
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Gambia is 23.7%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 19 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.0% on the previous year and down 28.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Gambia peaked at 41.6% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 23.7%, in 2025.
Gambia ranks 26th of 169 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
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 | 41.4% | — |
| 2007 | 39.0% | -5.8% |
| 2008 | 41.2% | +5.6% |
| 2010 | 38.9% | -5.5% |
| 2011 | 41.6% | +6.7% |
| 2012 | 38.7% | -6.8% |
| 2013 | 36.4% | -6.0% |
| 2014 | 35.8% | -1.8% |
| 2015 | 33.3% | -6.9% |
| 2016 | 32.2% | -3.2% |
| 2017 | 30.2% | -6.1% |
| 2018 | 28.1% | -7.1% |
| 2019 | 26.1% | -7.2% |
| 2020 | 25.0% | -4.3% |
| 2021 | 25.2% | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 25.0% | -0.8% |
| 2023 | 23.9% | -4.2% |
| 2024 | 24.4% | +2.0% |
| 2025 | 23.7% | -3.0% |
Gambia compared with similar countries
- Gambia's 23.7% is below the median for low income countries, which is 32.7%, 72% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
- Gambia's 23.7% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 20.5%, 1.2× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 40.5% | 39.0% | 41.4% | 3 |
| 2010s | 34.1% | 26.1% | 41.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 24.5% | 23.7% | 25.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Gambia
- 23 Comoros 25.2% compare
- 24 Guinea 24.4% compare
- 25 Micronesia, Federated States of 24.1% compare
- 27 Lao People's Democratic Republic 21.7% compare
- 28 Madagascar 20.5% compare
- 29 Mauritania 20.1% compare
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 23.7% 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 41.6% in 2011.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Gambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 23.7% in 2025.
- How does Gambia rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
- Gambia ranks 26th 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 28.8%. 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, male (%). 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