Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Pakistan
Pakistan: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes was 20.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Pakistan, 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 Pakistan stood at 20.2%. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.9% on the previous year and down 29.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Pakistan peaked at 36.0% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 20.2%, in 2025.
Pakistan ranks 33rd of 206 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
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 Pakistan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 36.0% | — |
| 2001 | 35.0% | -2.8% |
| 2002 | 34.4% | -1.7% |
| 2003 | 33.6% | -2.3% |
| 2004 | 33.3% | -0.9% |
| 2005 | 33.0% | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 33.0% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 33.0% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 33.2% | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 33.3% | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 33.2% | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 33.0% | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 32.6% | -1.2% |
| 2013 | 31.7% | -2.8% |
| 2014 | 30.3% | -4.4% |
| 2015 | 28.6% | -5.6% |
| 2016 | 26.6% | -7.0% |
| 2017 | 24.7% | -7.1% |
| 2018 | 23.2% | -6.1% |
| 2019 | 22.2% | -4.3% |
| 2020 | 21.6% | -2.7% |
| 2021 | 21.3% | -1.4% |
| 2022 | 21.1% | -0.9% |
| 2023 | 21.0% | -0.5% |
| 2024 | 20.6% | -1.9% |
| 2025 | 20.2% | -1.9% |
Pakistan compared with similar countries
- Pakistan's 20.2% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 9.6%, 2.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Pakistan's 20.2% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 5.8%, 3.5× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 33.8% | 33.0% | 36.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 28.6% | 22.2% | 33.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.0% | 20.2% | 21.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Pakistan
More education data for Pakistan
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 2.04 million (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 440,233 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 5.05 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 4.90 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 19.70 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 25.38 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 3.1 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.101 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Pakistan?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Pakistan was 20.2% 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 Pakistan?
- The highest recorded value was 36.0% in 2000.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Pakistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.2% in 2025.
- How does Pakistan rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes?
- Pakistan ranks 33rd 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 Pakistan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Pakistan 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