Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Zambia
Zambia: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes was 14.9% in 2017. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Zambia, 1972–2017
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2017, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Zambia stood at 14.9%.
That represents a change of up 80.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Zambia peaked at 33.2% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 7.8%, in 2008.
Zambia ranks 31st of 188 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 30 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 23.7% | — |
| 1976 | 21.0% | -11.4% |
| 1977 | 20.9% | -0.2% |
| 1978 | 22.0% | +5.1% |
| 1979 | 22.5% | +2.2% |
| 1980 | 22.5% | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 22.5% | -0.2% |
| 1982 | 22.6% | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 21.0% | -6.9% |
| 1984 | 20.0% | -5.1% |
| 1986 | 18.7% | -6.3% |
| 1988 | 20.8% | +11.1% |
| 1994 | 27.2% | +30.9% |
| 1995 | 29.0% | +6.6% |
| 1998 | 31.7% | +9.4% |
| 1999 | 33.0% | +4.2% |
| 2000 | 33.1% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 33.2% | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 30.2% | -9.2% |
| 2004 | 17.4% | -42.5% |
| 2005 | 9.0% | -48.0% |
| 2006 | 10.8% | +19.0% |
| 2007 | 8.3% | -23.2% |
| 2008 | 7.8% | -5.1% |
| 2009 | 11.1% | +41.2% |
| 2010 | 14.0% | +26.5% |
| 2011 | 10.4% | -25.3% |
| 2012 | 9.1% | -12.7% |
| 2013 | 11.8% | +29.1% |
| 2017 | 14.9% | +26.6% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 14.9% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 6.0%, 2.5× the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 14.9% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 22.0% | 20.9% | 23.7% | 5 |
| 1980s | 21.1% | 18.7% | 22.6% | 7 |
| 1990s | 30.2% | 27.2% | 33.0% | 4 |
| 2000s | 17.9% | 7.8% | 33.2% | 9 |
| 2010s | 12.0% | 9.1% | 14.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More education data for Zambia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 42,585 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 169,961 (2013)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.39 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.49 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.55 % change on previous year (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.2106 units per person (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 4.49 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Zambia?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Zambia was 14.9% in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 33.2% in 2001.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.8% in 2008.
- How does Zambia rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes?
- Zambia ranks 31st out of 188 countries with data for 2017.
- Is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 80.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia 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 — 30 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/