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 6.2% 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
Kenya recorded 6.2% for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 10 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 88.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Kenya peaked at 56.9% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 6.2%, in 2023.
That places Kenya 106th out of 175 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 | 52.3% | — |
| 2002 | 54.5% | +4.0% |
| 2003 | 51.4% | -5.6% |
| 2004 | 53.6% | +4.3% |
| 2005 | 53.9% | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 55.1% | +2.2% |
| 2007 | 54.7% | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 56.9% | +3.8% |
| 2009 | 53.3% | -6.3% |
| 2023 | 6.2% | -88.3% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 6.2% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 34.0%, 18% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 6.2% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 43.1%, 14% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 54.0% | 51.4% | 56.9% | 9 |
| 2020s | 6.2% | 6.2% | 6.2% | 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 6.2% 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 56.9% 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 6.2% in 2023.
- How does Kenya rank for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary?
- Kenya ranks 106th out of 175 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 88.3%. 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, female (%). 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