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 37.3% 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
In 2024, out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Saudi Arabia stood at 37.3%. That is the lowest value across all 10 years on record.
That represents a change of down 16.4% on the previous year and down 47.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Saudi Arabia peaked at 79.2% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 37.3%, in 2024.
That places Saudi Arabia 40th out of 175 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 | 79.2% | — |
| 2014 | 70.7% | -10.7% |
| 2015 | 65.0% | -8.1% |
| 2016 | 64.4% | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 63.4% | -1.5% |
| 2019 | 66.6% | +5.1% |
| 2020 | 56.9% | -14.7% |
| 2021 | 65.7% | +15.6% |
| 2022 | 44.6% | -32.1% |
| 2024 | 37.3% | -16.4% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 37.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 4.7%, 7.9× the median. (68 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 37.3% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 30.4%, 1.2× the median. (18 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 68.2% | 63.4% | 79.2% | 6 |
| 2020s | 51.1% | 37.3% | 65.7% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
- 37 Iran, Islamic Republic of 41.1% compare
- 38 Gambia 41.1% compare
- 39 Sierra Leone 39.4% compare
- 41 Madagascar 37.0% compare
- 42 Kyrgyzstan 36.8% compare
- 43 Ethiopia 36.2% compare
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 37.3% 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 79.2% 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 37.3% in 2024.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 40th 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 47.3%. 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, male (%). 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