Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in New Zealand
New Zealand: Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary was 14.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in New Zealand, 2014–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in New Zealand stood at 14.2%.
The figure is down 8.8% on the previous year and up 91.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in New Zealand peaked at 19.0% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 5.0%, in 2017.
New Zealand ranks 82nd of 175 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 7.4% | — |
| 2015 | 5.8% | -21.4% |
| 2016 | 7.7% | +32.3% |
| 2017 | 5.0% | -35.5% |
| 2018 | 7.0% | +41.9% |
| 2019 | 11.5% | +63.6% |
| 2020 | 13.4% | +16.1% |
| 2021 | 13.2% | -1.5% |
| 2022 | 19.0% | +43.9% |
| 2023 | 15.5% | -18.3% |
| 2024 | 14.2% | -8.8% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 14.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 3.8%, 3.7× the median. (68 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 14.2% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 14.6%, 97% of the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 7.4% | 5.0% | 11.5% | 6 |
| 2020s | 15.0% | 13.2% | 19.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More education data for New Zealand
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 36,426 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 12,020 (1992)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 56,552 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 53,804 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 562,417 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 383,018 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.15 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0724 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in New Zealand?
- Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in New Zealand was 14.2% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 19.0% in 2022.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.0% in 2017.
- How does New Zealand rank for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary?
- New Zealand ranks 82nd out of 175 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 91.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand 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 — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release