Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes was 0.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in United Kingdom, 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 United Kingdom stood at 0.2%. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of down 75.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in United Kingdom peaked at 1.0% in 2012 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 2023.
United Kingdom ranks 181st of 206 countries on this measure, in the bottom 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 United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0.6% | — |
| 2001 | 0.5% | -16.7% |
| 2002 | 0.4% | -20.0% |
| 2003 | 0.3% | -25.0% |
| 2004 | 0.3% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.3% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.3% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.4% | +33.3% |
| 2008 | 0.5% | +25.0% |
| 2009 | 0.7% | +40.0% |
| 2010 | 0.8% | +14.3% |
| 2011 | 0.9% | +12.5% |
| 2012 | 1.0% | +11.1% |
| 2013 | 1.0% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.9% | -10.0% |
| 2015 | 0.8% | -11.1% |
| 2016 | 0.7% | -12.5% |
| 2017 | 0.6% | -14.3% |
| 2018 | 0.5% | -16.7% |
| 2019 | 0.4% | -20.0% |
| 2020 | 0.3% | -25.0% |
| 2021 | 0.3% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 0.3% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.2% | -33.3% |
| 2024 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 0.2% is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.1%, 19% of the median. (72 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 0.2% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.0%, 20% of the median. (52 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8% | 0.4% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
- 181 Liechtenstein 0.2% compare
- 181 Poland 0.2% compare
- 181 Sweden 0.2% compare
- 181 Seychelles 0.2% compare
More education data for United Kingdom
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 388,714 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2012)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 830,495 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 790,556 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.40 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.86 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.0111 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.071 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in United Kingdom?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in United Kingdom was 0.2% 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 United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 1.0% in 2012.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 2023.
- How does United Kingdom rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes?
- United Kingdom ranks 181st 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 United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is down 75.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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