Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Gambia
Gambia: Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary was 37.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Gambia, 2007–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Gambia is 37.3%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.
The figure is down 8.9% on the previous year and down 23.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Gambia peaked at 67.8% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 37.3%, in 2025.
That places Gambia 40th out of 179 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Gambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 67.8% | — |
| 2010 | 54.2% | -20.0% |
| 2013 | 58.8% | +8.4% |
| 2014 | 50.7% | -13.7% |
| 2015 | 48.6% | -4.1% |
| 2016 | 48.9% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 46.8% | -4.4% |
| 2018 | 45.1% | -3.6% |
| 2019 | 42.7% | -5.2% |
| 2020 | 42.7% | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 43.6% | +2.2% |
| 2022 | 44.3% | +1.7% |
| 2023 | 43.5% | -1.8% |
| 2024 | 41.0% | -5.8% |
| 2025 | 37.3% | -8.9% |
Gambia compared with similar countries
- Gambia's 37.3% is below the median for low income countries, which is 57.9%, 64% of the median. (14 countries reporting)
- Gambia's 37.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 43.8%, 85% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 67.8% | 67.8% | 67.8% | 1 |
| 2010s | 49.5% | 42.7% | 58.8% | 8 |
| 2020s | 42.1% | 37.3% | 44.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Gambia
- 37 Honduras 40.9% compare
- 38 Iran, Islamic Republic of 40.2% compare
- 39 Ethiopia 37.4% compare
- 41 Sierra Leone 37.2% compare
- 42 Saudi Arabia 35.6% compare
- 43 Liberia 34.8% compare
More education data for Gambia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 12,452 (2021)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 16,389 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 71,238 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 77,061 (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 369,783 (2021)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 442,901 (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.4 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1569 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Gambia?
- Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Gambia was 37.3% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary recorded in Gambia?
- The highest recorded value was 67.8% in 2007.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary recorded in Gambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 37.3% in 2025.
- How does Gambia rank for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary?
- Gambia ranks 40th out of 179 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary rising or falling in Gambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Gambia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary entry age, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release