Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes was 11.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Zimbabwe, 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 Zimbabwe stood at 11.7%.
The figure is up 5.4% on the previous year and up 24.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Zimbabwe peaked at 14.1% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 8.3%, in 2018.
Zimbabwe ranks 60th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
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 Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 14.1% | — |
| 2001 | 13.1% | -7.1% |
| 2002 | 12.6% | -3.8% |
| 2003 | 12.3% | -2.4% |
| 2004 | 11.8% | -4.1% |
| 2005 | 10.9% | -7.6% |
| 2006 | 10.4% | -4.6% |
| 2007 | 10.6% | +1.9% |
| 2008 | 10.7% | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 10.3% | -3.7% |
| 2010 | 9.9% | -3.9% |
| 2011 | 9.7% | -2.0% |
| 2012 | 9.8% | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 9.8% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 9.6% | -2.0% |
| 2015 | 9.4% | -2.1% |
| 2016 | 9.1% | -3.2% |
| 2017 | 8.7% | -4.4% |
| 2018 | 8.3% | -4.6% |
| 2019 | 8.4% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 8.8% | +4.8% |
| 2021 | 9.4% | +6.8% |
| 2022 | 9.8% | +4.3% |
| 2023 | 10.4% | +6.1% |
| 2024 | 11.1% | +6.7% |
| 2025 | 11.7% | +5.4% |
Zimbabwe compared with similar countries
- Zimbabwe's 11.7% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 9.6%, 1.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zimbabwe's 11.7% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 16.5%, 71% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 11.7% | 10.3% | 14.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.3% | 8.3% | 9.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.2% | 8.8% | 11.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
More education data for Zimbabwe
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 42,585 (2013)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 12,514 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 328,055 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 322,698 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 957,461 (2013)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.94 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.4866 % 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 0.1767 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Zimbabwe?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Zimbabwe was 11.7% 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 Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 14.1% in 2000.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.3% in 2018.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes?
- Zimbabwe ranks 60th 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 Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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.
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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