Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Uganda
Uganda: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes was 14.3% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
14.3%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
53rd
of 206 countries
All-time high
14.3%
in 2024
All-time low
8.9%
in 2004
Years of data
26
2000–2025
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Uganda, 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 Uganda stood at 14.3%. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 26.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Uganda peaked at 14.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 8.9%, in 2004.
Uganda ranks 53rd 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 Uganda, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 13.1% | — |
| 2001 | 11.7% | -10.7% |
| 2002 | 10.1% | -13.7% |
| 2003 | 9.2% | -8.9% |
| 2004 | 8.9% | -3.3% |
| 2005 | 9.1% | +2.2% |
| 2006 | 9.3% | +2.2% |
| 2007 | 9.1% | -2.2% |
| 2008 | 8.9% | -2.2% |
| 2009 | 9.2% | +3.4% |
| 2010 | 9.8% | +6.5% |
| 2011 | 10.4% | +6.1% |
| 2012 | 10.8% | +3.8% |
| 2013 | 10.9% | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 11.2% | +2.8% |
| 2015 | 11.3% | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 11.4% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 11.6% | +1.8% |
| 2018 | 11.9% | +2.6% |
| 2019 | 12.4% | +4.2% |
| 2020 | 12.8% | +3.2% |
| 2021 | 13.1% | +2.3% |
| 2022 | 13.5% | +3.1% |
| 2023 | 14.0% | +3.7% |
| 2024 | 14.3% | +2.1% |
| 2025 | 14.3% | +0.0% |
Uganda compared with similar countries
- Uganda's 14.3% is below the median for low income countries, which is 25.4%, 56% of the median. (24 countries reporting)
- Uganda's 14.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 16.5%, 87% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9.9% | 8.9% | 13.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.2% | 9.8% | 12.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.7% | 12.8% | 14.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Uganda
- 50 Papua New Guinea 15.2% compare
- 51 Trinidad and Tobago 15.1% compare
- 52 Tanzania, United Republic of 14.5% compare
- 53 Benin 14.3% compare
- 55 Kenya 14.0% compare
- 56 Lao People's Democratic Republic 13.8% compare
More education data for Uganda
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 63,957 (2014)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 778,349 (2017)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 301,523 (2017)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 307,450 (2017)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.03 million (2007)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 8.84 million (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.13 % change on previous year (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.22 units per person (2017)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Uganda?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Uganda was 14.3% 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 Uganda?
- The highest recorded value was 14.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Uganda?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.9% in 2004.
- How does Uganda rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes?
- Uganda ranks 53rd 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 Uganda?
- Over the last ten years it is up 26.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Uganda 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