Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female was 25.1% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Ethiopia, 1987–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Ethiopia is 25.1%, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.1% on the previous year and up 17.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Ethiopia peaked at 83.5% in 1994 and was at its lowest, 21.4%, in 2014.
That places Ethiopia 24th out of 180 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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, female in Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 75.6% | — |
| 1988 | 75.3% | -0.4% |
| 1989 | 75.7% | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 83.5% | +10.3% |
| 1995 | 81.7% | -2.1% |
| 1996 | 78.8% | -3.5% |
| 1998 | 73.3% | -7.0% |
| 1999 | 70.9% | -3.3% |
| 2000 | 67.0% | -5.5% |
| 2001 | 62.9% | -6.1% |
| 2002 | 60.9% | -3.3% |
| 2003 | 59.9% | -1.6% |
| 2004 | 56.2% | -6.2% |
| 2005 | 45.0% | -19.8% |
| 2006 | 39.4% | -12.4% |
| 2007 | 33.8% | -14.3% |
| 2008 | 28.0% | -17.3% |
| 2009 | 27.6% | -1.1% |
| 2010 | 29.8% | +7.6% |
| 2011 | 26.6% | -10.6% |
| 2012 | 25.4% | -4.6% |
| 2014 | 21.4% | -15.5% |
| 2015 | 22.7% | +6.1% |
| 2021 | 28.8% | +26.6% |
| 2022 | 27.5% | -4.6% |
| 2023 | 26.4% | -3.8% |
| 2024 | 25.1% | -5.1% |
Ethiopia compared with similar countries
- Ethiopia's 25.1% is below the median for low income countries, which is 32.7%, 77% of the median. (20 countries reporting)
- Ethiopia's 25.1% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 16.1%, 1.6× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Ethiopia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | +26.6% | 22.7% | 28.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 75.5% | 75.3% | 75.7% | 3 |
| 1990s | 77.6% | 70.9% | 83.5% | 5 |
| 2000s | 48.1% | 27.6% | 67.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.2% | 21.4% | 29.8% | 5 |
| 2020s | 26.9% | 25.1% | 28.8% | 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, female in Ethiopia?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Ethiopia was 25.1% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female recorded in Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 83.5% in 1994.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.4% in 2014.
- How does Ethiopia rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female?
- Ethiopia ranks 24th out of 180 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.0%. 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, female (%). 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