Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Kenya
Kenya: Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary was 7.9% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Kenya, 2001–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Kenya stood at 7.9%. That is the lowest value across all 10 years on record.
The figure is down 85.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Kenya peaked at 56.6% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 7.9%, in 2023.
That places Kenya 104th out of 179 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Kenya, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 52.6% | — |
| 2002 | 54.5% | +3.6% |
| 2003 | 52.6% | -3.5% |
| 2004 | 53.9% | +2.5% |
| 2005 | 54.2% | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 54.5% | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 53.8% | -1.2% |
| 2008 | 56.6% | +5.1% |
| 2009 | 52.9% | -6.4% |
| 2023 | 7.9% | -85.1% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 7.9% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 34.1%, 23% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 7.9% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 43.8%, 18% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 54.0% | 52.6% | 56.6% | 9 |
| 2020s | 7.9% | 7.9% | 7.9% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More education data for Kenya
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 168,396 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 235,728 (2016)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.44 million (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.44 million (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.74 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 8.04 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.7181 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1453 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Kenya?
- Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Kenya was 7.9% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary recorded in Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 56.6% in 2008.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.9% in 2023.
- How does Kenya rank for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary?
- Kenya ranks 104th out of 179 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is down 85.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Kenya 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release