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 14.4% in 2015. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Ethiopia, 1987–2015
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Ethiopia recorded 14.4% for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in 2015.
The figure is up 3.9% on the previous year and down 63.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Ethiopia peaked at 80.8% in 1994 and was at its lowest, 13.8%, in 2014.
That places Ethiopia 33rd out of 188 countries with data for 2015, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 70.6% | — |
| 1988 | 70.0% | -0.8% |
| 1989 | 71.3% | +1.8% |
| 1994 | 80.8% | +13.3% |
| 1995 | 78.1% | -3.4% |
| 1996 | 73.8% | -5.4% |
| 1998 | 66.3% | -10.1% |
| 1999 | 63.8% | -3.8% |
| 2000 | 59.7% | -6.4% |
| 2001 | 55.4% | -7.2% |
| 2002 | 53.2% | -4.0% |
| 2003 | 52.5% | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 49.7% | -5.3% |
| 2005 | 38.8% | -21.8% |
| 2006 | 34.2% | -11.8% |
| 2007 | 28.9% | -15.5% |
| 2008 | 23.3% | -19.6% |
| 2009 | 23.7% | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 25.6% | +8.1% |
| 2011 | 21.7% | -15.2% |
| 2012 | 20.2% | -7.0% |
| 2014 | 13.8% | -31.5% |
| 2015 | 14.4% | +3.9% |
Ethiopia compared with similar countries
- Ethiopia's 14.4% is below the median for low income countries, which is 21.9%, 66% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
- Ethiopia's 14.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 13.4%, 1.1× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 70.6% | 70.0% | 71.3% | 3 |
| 1990s | 72.6% | 63.8% | 80.8% | 5 |
| 2000s | 41.9% | 23.3% | 59.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.2% | 13.8% | 25.6% | 5 |
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 14.4% in 2015, 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 80.8% 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 13.8% in 2014.
- How does Ethiopia rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes?
- Ethiopia ranks 33rd out of 188 countries with data for 2015.
- 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 down 63.0%. 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 — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
The number of students of the official age for primary education is subtracted from the total population of the same age. The result is expressed as a percentage of the population of the official age for primary education. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/