Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes was 22.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
22.5%
Change on year
down 5.8%
World rank
28th
of 203 countries
All-time high
79.8%
in 1994
All-time low
19.1%
in 2014
Years of data
27
1987–2024
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Ethiopia, 1987–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Ethiopia stood at 22.5%.
The figure is down 5.8% on the previous year and up 17.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Ethiopia peaked at 79.8% in 1994 and was at its lowest, 19.1%, in 2014.
Ethiopia ranks 28th of 203 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 27 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 70.3% | — |
| 1988 | 69.9% | -0.6% |
| 1989 | 71.2% | +1.8% |
| 1994 | 79.8% | +12.1% |
| 1995 | 77.0% | -3.5% |
| 1996 | 72.9% | -5.3% |
| 1998 | 66.7% | -8.5% |
| 1999 | 64.9% | -2.7% |
| 2000 | 61.6% | -5.1% |
| 2001 | 58.0% | -5.8% |
| 2002 | 56.3% | -2.9% |
| 2003 | 55.7% | -1.1% |
| 2004 | 52.9% | -5.0% |
| 2005 | 42.3% | -19.9% |
| 2006 | 37.4% | -11.6% |
| 2007 | 31.8% | -14.9% |
| 2008 | 25.9% | -18.5% |
| 2009 | 26.2% | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 28.2% | +7.5% |
| 2011 | 24.8% | -12.2% |
| 2012 | 23.7% | -4.2% |
| 2014 | 19.1% | -19.3% |
| 2015 | 20.2% | +5.7% |
| 2021 | 25.7% | +27.3% |
| 2022 | 24.6% | -4.2% |
| 2023 | 23.8% | -3.3% |
| 2024 | 22.5% | -5.8% |
Ethiopia compared with similar countries
- Ethiopia's 22.5% is below the median for low income countries, which is 30.5%, 74% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
- Ethiopia's 22.5% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 16.9%, 1.3× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 70.5% | 69.9% | 71.2% | 3 |
| 1990s | 72.2% | 64.9% | 79.8% | 5 |
| 2000s | 44.8% | 25.9% | 61.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 23.2% | 19.1% | 28.2% | 5 |
| 2020s | 24.2% | 22.5% | 25.7% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
More education data for Ethiopia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 272,545 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 900,151 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 2.32 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 2.16 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 5.03 million (2015)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 15.93 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.45 % 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 0.1206 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Ethiopia?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Ethiopia was 22.5% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 79.8% in 1994.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.1% in 2014.
- How does Ethiopia rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes?
- Ethiopia ranks 28th out of 203 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ethiopia 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 (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release