Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Least developed countries
Least developed countries: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female was 17.9% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Least developed countries, 1970–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2019, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Least developed countries stood at 17.9%. That is the lowest value across all 50 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.0% on the previous year and down 16.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Least developed countries peaked at 72.2% in 1971 and was at its lowest, 17.9%, in 2019.
That places Least developed countries 9th out of 45 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 50 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Least developed countries, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 70.3% | — |
| 1971 | 72.2% | +2.7% |
| 1972 | 69.1% | -4.2% |
| 1973 | 65.2% | -5.7% |
| 1974 | 65.1% | -0.2% |
| 1975 | 61.8% | -5.0% |
| 1976 | 59.5% | -3.8% |
| 1977 | 58.6% | -1.5% |
| 1978 | 57.2% | -2.3% |
| 1979 | 55.9% | -2.3% |
| 1980 | 54.1% | -3.3% |
| 1981 | 52.8% | -2.3% |
| 1982 | 53.9% | +2.0% |
| 1983 | 53.7% | -0.3% |
| 1984 | 53.0% | -1.3% |
| 1985 | 53.7% | +1.3% |
| 1986 | 53.4% | -0.6% |
| 1987 | 53.8% | +0.8% |
| 1988 | 50.9% | -5.5% |
| 1989 | 51.1% | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 51.7% | +1.3% |
| 1991 | 50.1% | -3.2% |
| 1992 | 50.1% | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 49.9% | -0.3% |
| 1994 | 49.0% | -1.8% |
| 1995 | 48.3% | -1.4% |
| 1996 | 48.0% | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 45.8% | -4.5% |
| 1998 | 45.4% | -0.9% |
| 1999 | 45.1% | -0.7% |
| 2000 | 42.7% | -5.3% |
| 2001 | 40.4% | -5.4% |
| 2002 | 36.8% | -8.7% |
| 2003 | 33.7% | -8.5% |
| 2004 | 31.2% | -7.6% |
| 2005 | 28.8% | -7.7% |
| 2006 | 26.3% | -8.7% |
| 2007 | 24.6% | -6.5% |
| 2008 | 22.3% | -9.1% |
| 2009 | 21.5% | -3.8% |
| 2010 | 21.5% | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 20.3% | -5.4% |
| 2012 | 19.4% | -4.4% |
| 2013 | 18.7% | -3.9% |
| 2014 | 18.2% | -2.4% |
| 2015 | 18.8% | +3.1% |
| 2016 | 18.4% | -1.9% |
| 2017 | 18.3% | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 18.1% | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 17.9% | -1.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 63.5% | 55.9% | 72.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 53.0% | 50.9% | 54.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 48.3% | 45.1% | 51.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 30.8% | 21.5% | 42.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.0% | 17.9% | 21.5% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Least developed countries
More education data for Least developed countries
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 4.43 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 75.92 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 171.01 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.04 % 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 0.1441 units per person (2024)
- Population ages 15-64 57.7% (2025)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 38.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Least developed countries?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Least developed countries was 17.9% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female recorded in Least developed countries?
- The highest recorded value was 72.2% in 1971.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female recorded in Least developed countries?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.9% in 2019.
- How does Least developed countries rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female?
- Least developed countries ranks 9th out of 45 groups with data for 2019.
- Is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female rising or falling in Least developed countries?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Least developed countries 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.
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About this data
The number of female students of the official age for primary education is subtracted from the total female population of the same age. The result is expressed as a percentage of the female population of the official age for primary education. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/