Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa
SDG: Sub-saharan Africa: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes was 19.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa, 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 SDG: Sub-saharan Africa stood at 19.7%. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.5% on the previous year and down 12.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa peaked at 37.4% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 19.7%, in 2025.
That places SDG: Sub-saharan Africa 8th out of 39 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the top 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 SDG: Sub-saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 37.4% | — |
| 2001 | 35.4% | -5.3% |
| 2002 | 33.5% | -5.4% |
| 2003 | 31.8% | -5.1% |
| 2004 | 30.4% | -4.4% |
| 2005 | 29.2% | -3.9% |
| 2006 | 28.0% | -4.1% |
| 2007 | 26.8% | -4.3% |
| 2008 | 25.7% | -4.1% |
| 2009 | 24.8% | -3.5% |
| 2010 | 24.0% | -3.2% |
| 2011 | 23.3% | -2.9% |
| 2012 | 22.9% | -1.7% |
| 2013 | 22.6% | -1.3% |
| 2014 | 22.5% | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 22.4% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 22.4% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 22.3% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 22.2% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 22.0% | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 21.7% | -1.4% |
| 2021 | 21.2% | -2.3% |
| 2022 | 20.7% | -2.4% |
| 2023 | 20.4% | -1.4% |
| 2024 | 20.0% | -2.0% |
| 2025 | 19.7% | -1.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 30.3% | 24.8% | 37.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.7% | 22.0% | 24.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.6% | 19.7% | 21.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near SDG: Sub-saharan Africa
More education data for SDG: Sub-saharan Africa
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 191.30 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.31 % change on previous year (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 14.32 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 1.68 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 37.60 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 12.63 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 12.47 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 0.8202 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 4.94 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 97.68 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa was 19.7% 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 SDG: Sub-saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 37.4% in 2000.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.7% in 2025.
- How does SDG: Sub-saharan Africa rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes?
- SDG: Sub-saharan Africa ranks 8th out of 39 groups with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes rising or falling in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this SDG: Sub-saharan Africa 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.
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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