Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Mali
Mali: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes was 29.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Mali, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Mali recorded 29.2% for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is down 3.9% on the previous year and down 29.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Mali peaked at 58.3% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 29.2%, in 2025.
That places Mali 19th out of 206 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Mali, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 58.3% | — |
| 2001 | 56.3% | -3.4% |
| 2002 | 54.1% | -3.9% |
| 2003 | 51.8% | -4.3% |
| 2004 | 49.7% | -4.1% |
| 2005 | 47.7% | -4.0% |
| 2006 | 45.9% | -3.8% |
| 2007 | 44.2% | -3.7% |
| 2008 | 42.7% | -3.4% |
| 2009 | 41.5% | -2.8% |
| 2010 | 40.7% | -1.9% |
| 2011 | 40.4% | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 40.5% | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 40.8% | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 41.1% | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 41.5% | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 41.9% | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 41.8% | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 41.0% | -1.9% |
| 2019 | 39.6% | -3.4% |
| 2020 | 37.7% | -4.8% |
| 2021 | 35.7% | -5.3% |
| 2022 | 33.6% | -5.9% |
| 2023 | 31.8% | -5.4% |
| 2024 | 30.4% | -4.4% |
| 2025 | 29.2% | -3.9% |
Mali compared with similar countries
- Mali's 29.2% is above the median for low income countries, which is 25.4%, 1.1× the median. (24 countries reporting)
- Mali's 29.2% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 16.5%, 1.8× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 49.2% | 41.5% | 58.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 40.9% | 39.6% | 41.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 33.1% | 29.2% | 37.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Mali
More education data for Mali
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 80,395 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 512,692 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 82,198 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 83,509 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.31 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.97 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.42 % change on previous year (2018)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1251 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Mali?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Mali was 29.2% 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 Mali?
- The highest recorded value was 58.3% in 2000.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Mali?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.2% in 2025.
- How does Mali rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes?
- Mali ranks 19th 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 Mali?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Mali 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