Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Zambia
Zambia: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female was 8.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Zambia, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Zambia stood at 8.5%. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is down 4.5% on the previous year and down 36.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Zambia peaked at 34.3% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 8.5%, in 2025.
That places Zambia 69th out of 206 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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, female in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 34.3% | — |
| 2001 | 29.9% | -12.8% |
| 2002 | 25.3% | -15.4% |
| 2003 | 21.0% | -17.0% |
| 2004 | 17.5% | -16.7% |
| 2005 | 15.3% | -12.6% |
| 2006 | 14.1% | -7.8% |
| 2007 | 13.5% | -4.3% |
| 2008 | 13.1% | -3.0% |
| 2009 | 12.9% | -1.5% |
| 2010 | 12.9% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 13.0% | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 13.3% | +2.3% |
| 2013 | 13.6% | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 13.6% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 13.3% | -2.2% |
| 2016 | 12.8% | -3.8% |
| 2017 | 12.3% | -3.9% |
| 2018 | 11.8% | -4.1% |
| 2019 | 11.2% | -5.1% |
| 2020 | 10.7% | -4.5% |
| 2021 | 10.2% | -4.7% |
| 2022 | 9.6% | -5.9% |
| 2023 | 9.1% | -5.2% |
| 2024 | 8.9% | -2.2% |
| 2025 | 8.5% | -4.5% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 8.5% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 10.0%, 85% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 8.5% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 18.2%, 47% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 19.7% | 12.9% | 34.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.8% | 11.2% | 13.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.5% | 8.5% | 10.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 66 Palestine, State of 9.6% compare
- 67 Palau 8.8% compare
- 67 Sierra Leone 8.8% compare
- 70 Dominican Republic 8.3% compare
- 71 Bahrain 8.2% compare
- 71 Ghana 8.2% compare
- 71 Guatemala 8.2% compare
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, female in Zambia?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Zambia was 8.5% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 34.3% in 2000.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.5% in 2025.
- How does Zambia rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female?
- Zambia ranks 69th out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 36.1%. 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, female (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