Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Jamaica
Jamaica: Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower was 19.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Jamaica, 1976–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Jamaica stood at 19.6%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 23.6% on the previous year and up 58.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Jamaica peaked at 19.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2.7%, in 1983.
Jamaica ranks 31st of 169 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Jamaica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 5.5% | — |
| 1977 | 2.7% | -49.7% |
| 1981 | 3.0% | +9.0% |
| 1983 | 2.7% | -10.1% |
| 1984 | 3.7% | +37.6% |
| 1985 | 4.2% | +14.4% |
| 1986 | 6.1% | +43.1% |
| 1999 | 12.7% | +109.6% |
| 2000 | 13.2% | +3.9% |
| 2001 | 13.1% | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 13.5% | +2.6% |
| 2003 | 13.9% | +3.0% |
| 2004 | 9.9% | -28.6% |
| 2005 | 10.6% | +6.7% |
| 2013 | 11.7% | +11.0% |
| 2014 | 12.4% | +5.5% |
| 2015 | 14.8% | +19.5% |
| 2016 | 12.0% | -18.7% |
| 2017 | 14.3% | +19.2% |
| 2018 | 13.6% | -5.3% |
| 2019 | 12.7% | -6.8% |
| 2021 | 17.7% | +39.8% |
| 2022 | 11.6% | -34.6% |
| 2023 | 15.9% | +37.2% |
| 2024 | 19.6% | +23.6% |
Jamaica compared with similar countries
- Jamaica's 19.6% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 5.0%, 4.0× the median. (49 countries reporting)
- Jamaica's 19.6% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 8.8%, 2.2× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.1% | 2.7% | 5.5% | 2 |
| 1980s | 3.9% | 2.7% | 6.1% | 5 |
| 1990s | 12.7% | 12.7% | 12.7% | 1 |
| 2000s | 12.4% | 9.9% | 13.9% | 6 |
| 2010s | 13.1% | 11.7% | 14.8% | 7 |
| 2020s | 16.2% | 11.6% | 19.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
- 28 Madagascar 20.5% compare
- 29 Mauritania 20.1% compare
- 30 Guyana 20.0% compare
- 32 Côte d'Ivoire 19.5% compare
- 33 El Salvador 18.9% compare
- 34 Cameroon 16.8% compare
More education data for Jamaica
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 11,043 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 4,597 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 52,983 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 51,265 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 177,095 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 211,097 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 8.14 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0744 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Jamaica?
- Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Jamaica was 19.6% 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 Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 19.6% in 2024.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.7% in 1983.
- How does Jamaica rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
- Jamaica ranks 31st out of 169 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 58.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Jamaica 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 — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release