Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in United States
United States: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes was 3.6% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in United States, 2000–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2021, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in United States stood at 3.6%. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
The figure is up 20.0% on the previous year and up 63.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in United States peaked at 3.6% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 1.6%, in 2000.
United States ranks 108th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.6% | — |
| 2001 | 1.7% | +6.2% |
| 2002 | 1.8% | +5.9% |
| 2003 | 1.9% | +5.6% |
| 2004 | 1.9% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 2.0% | +5.3% |
| 2006 | 2.1% | +5.0% |
| 2007 | 2.2% | +4.8% |
| 2008 | 2.2% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 2.2% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 2.2% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 2.2% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 2.1% | -4.5% |
| 2013 | 2.1% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 2.0% | -4.8% |
| 2015 | 2.0% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 2.0% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 2.1% | +5.0% |
| 2018 | 2.3% | +9.5% |
| 2019 | 2.6% | +13.0% |
| 2020 | 3.0% | +15.4% |
| 2021 | 3.6% | +20.0% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 3.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.1%, 3.4× the median. (72 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.0% | 1.6% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.2% | 2.0% | 2.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.3% | 3.0% | 3.6% | 2 |
Countries ranked near United States
More education data for United States
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 1.74 million (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 419,732 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 4.34 million (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 4.14 million (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 25.35 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 23.83 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.33 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0708 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in United States?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in United States was 3.6% in 2021, 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 States?
- The highest recorded value was 3.6% in 2021.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.6% in 2000.
- How does United States rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes?
- United States ranks 108th out of 206 countries with data for 2021.
- Is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 63.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States 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 — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release