Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in China
China: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes was 4.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in China, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in China stood at 4.0%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.4% on the previous year and up 25.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in China peaked at 5.1% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 2.0%, in 2011.
That places China 103rd out of 206 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
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 China, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.2% | — |
| 2001 | 3.6% | +12.5% |
| 2002 | 4.0% | +11.1% |
| 2003 | 4.4% | +10.0% |
| 2004 | 5.1% | +15.9% |
| 2005 | 4.7% | -7.8% |
| 2006 | 4.2% | -10.6% |
| 2007 | 3.7% | -11.9% |
| 2008 | 3.1% | -16.2% |
| 2009 | 2.6% | -16.1% |
| 2010 | 2.2% | -15.4% |
| 2011 | 2.0% | -9.1% |
| 2012 | 2.2% | +10.0% |
| 2013 | 2.5% | +13.6% |
| 2014 | 2.9% | +16.0% |
| 2015 | 3.2% | +10.3% |
| 2016 | 3.6% | +12.5% |
| 2017 | 3.9% | +8.3% |
| 2018 | 4.1% | +5.1% |
| 2019 | 4.1% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 4.1% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 4.1% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 4.1% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 4.1% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 4.1% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 4.0% | -2.4% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 4.0% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3.4%, 1.2× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- China's 4.0% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.5%, 1.1× the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.9% | 2.6% | 5.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.1% | 2.0% | 4.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.1% | 4.0% | 4.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
More education data for China
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.41 million (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 7,020 (2021)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 21.58 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 19.36 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 97.98 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 108.57 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9587 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0771 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in China?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in China was 4.0% 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 China?
- The highest recorded value was 5.1% in 2004.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.0% in 2011.
- How does China rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes?
- China ranks 103rd 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 China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 25.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China 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.
Download this data
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