Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Jamaica
Jamaica: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes was 10.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Jamaica, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Jamaica recorded 10.2% for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in 2025.
That represents a change of down 2.9% on the previous year and down 8.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Jamaica peaked at 12.3% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 5.9%, in 2008.
Jamaica ranks 63rd of 206 countries on this measure, 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 Jamaica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 9.3% | — |
| 2001 | 9.2% | -1.1% |
| 2002 | 8.9% | -3.3% |
| 2003 | 8.6% | -3.4% |
| 2004 | 8.1% | -5.8% |
| 2005 | 7.5% | -7.4% |
| 2006 | 6.7% | -10.7% |
| 2007 | 6.1% | -9.0% |
| 2008 | 5.9% | -3.3% |
| 2009 | 6.1% | +3.4% |
| 2010 | 6.5% | +6.6% |
| 2011 | 7.3% | +12.3% |
| 2012 | 8.3% | +13.7% |
| 2013 | 9.3% | +12.0% |
| 2014 | 10.3% | +10.8% |
| 2015 | 11.2% | +8.7% |
| 2016 | 11.4% | +1.8% |
| 2017 | 11.0% | -3.5% |
| 2018 | 10.8% | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 11.5% | +6.5% |
| 2020 | 12.2% | +6.1% |
| 2021 | 12.3% | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 12.0% | -2.4% |
| 2023 | 11.1% | -7.5% |
| 2024 | 10.5% | -5.4% |
| 2025 | 10.2% | -2.9% |
Jamaica compared with similar countries
- Jamaica's 10.2% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3.4%, 3.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Jamaica's 10.2% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 4.7%, 2.2× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7.6% | 5.9% | 9.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.8% | 6.5% | 11.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.4% | 10.2% | 12.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
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 of primary school age, both sexes in Jamaica?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Jamaica was 10.2% 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 Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 12.3% in 2021.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.9% in 2008.
- How does Jamaica rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes?
- Jamaica ranks 63rd 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 Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.9%. 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 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