Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary was 34.0% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Saudi Arabia, 2013–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Saudi Arabia recorded 34.0% for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 10 years on record.
The figure is down 19.5% on the previous year and down 48.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Saudi Arabia peaked at 71.3% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 34.0%, in 2024.
Saudi Arabia ranks 44th of 175 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
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 Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 71.3% | — |
| 2014 | 65.8% | -7.7% |
| 2015 | 61.5% | -6.6% |
| 2016 | 60.9% | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 58.9% | -3.3% |
| 2019 | 47.5% | -19.3% |
| 2020 | 49.6% | +4.4% |
| 2021 | 62.2% | +25.4% |
| 2022 | 42.2% | -32.2% |
| 2024 | 34.0% | -19.5% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 34.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 3.8%, 8.8× the median. (68 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 34.0% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 29.2%, 1.2× the median. (18 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 61.0% | 47.5% | 71.3% | 6 |
| 2020s | 47.0% | 34.0% | 62.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More education data for Saudi Arabia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 242,375 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 26,900 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 215,559 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 214,840 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.36 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.45 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.53 % change on previous year (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0976 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Saudi Arabia?
- Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Saudi Arabia was 34.0% 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 Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 71.3% in 2013.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 34.0% in 2024.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 44th 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 Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 48.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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.
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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