Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary was 39.4% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Sierra Leone, 2012–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sierra Leone recorded 39.4% for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in 2024.
The figure is down 2.5% on the previous year and down 41.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Sierra Leone peaked at 69.0% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 38.0%, in 2022.
That places Sierra Leone 39th 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 Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 63.3% | — |
| 2013 | 67.3% | +6.4% |
| 2015 | 65.9% | -2.2% |
| 2016 | 69.0% | +4.8% |
| 2017 | 63.2% | -8.4% |
| 2018 | 59.3% | -6.3% |
| 2021 | 58.1% | -2.1% |
| 2022 | 38.0% | -34.6% |
| 2023 | 40.4% | +6.3% |
| 2024 | 39.4% | -2.5% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 39.4% is below the median for low income countries, which is 57.5%, 69% of the median. (14 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 39.4% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 44.5%, 88% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 64.7% | 59.3% | 69.0% | 6 |
| 2020s | 44.0% | 38.0% | 58.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
- 36 Honduras 41.8% compare
- 37 Iran, Islamic Republic of 41.1% compare
- 38 Gambia 41.1% compare
- 40 Saudi Arabia 37.3% compare
- 41 Madagascar 37.0% compare
- 42 Kyrgyzstan 36.8% compare
More education data for Sierra Leone
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 38,043 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 73,295 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 85,708 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 92,723 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.16 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.07 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.52 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.2393 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Sierra Leone?
- Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Sierra Leone was 39.4% 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 Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 69.0% in 2016.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 38.0% in 2022.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary?
- Sierra Leone ranks 39th 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 Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is down 41.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sierra Leone 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