Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes was 52.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Afghanistan, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Afghanistan recorded 52.7% for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in 2025. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of up 33.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Afghanistan peaked at 52.7% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 35.9%, in 2007.
That places Afghanistan 3rd out of 206 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 41.9% | — |
| 2001 | 40.5% | -3.3% |
| 2002 | 39.0% | -3.7% |
| 2003 | 37.7% | -3.3% |
| 2004 | 36.9% | -2.1% |
| 2005 | 36.4% | -1.4% |
| 2006 | 36.0% | -1.1% |
| 2007 | 35.9% | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 36.0% | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 36.0% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 36.3% | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 36.7% | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 37.0% | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 37.7% | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 38.3% | +1.6% |
| 2015 | 39.5% | +3.1% |
| 2016 | 40.6% | +2.8% |
| 2017 | 41.5% | +2.2% |
| 2018 | 42.3% | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 42.9% | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 43.3% | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 43.8% | +1.2% |
| 2022 | 52.7% | +20.3% |
| 2023 | 52.7% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 52.7% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 52.7% | +0.0% |
Afghanistan compared with similar countries
- Afghanistan's 52.7% is above the median for low income countries, which is 25.4%, 2.1× the median. (24 countries reporting)
- Afghanistan's 52.7% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 5.8%, 9.2× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 37.6% | 35.9% | 41.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 39.3% | 36.3% | 42.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 49.6% | 43.3% | 52.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
- 1 Equatorial Guinea 62.0% compare
- 2 South Sudan 59.0% compare
- 4 Central African Republic 46.6% compare
- 5 Sudan 42.3% compare
- 6 Eritrea 41.8% compare
More education data for Afghanistan
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 88,020 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 343,942 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 13,837 (2003)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 10,383 (2003)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.43 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 7.51 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 3.56 % change on previous year (2019)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0004 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1811 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Afghanistan?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Afghanistan was 52.7% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 52.7% in 2022.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 35.9% in 2007.
- How does Afghanistan rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes?
- Afghanistan ranks 3rd out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 33.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes (modelled data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release