Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both in Jamaica
Jamaica: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both was 24.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
24.3%
Change on year
up 7.5%
World rank
78th
of 206 countries
All-time high
40.9%
in 2000
All-time low
19.5%
in 2017
Years of data
26
2000–2025
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both in Jamaica, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Jamaica recorded 24.3% for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both in 2025.
The figure is up 7.5% on the previous year and up 7.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both in Jamaica peaked at 40.9% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 19.5%, in 2017.
Jamaica ranks 78th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both in Jamaica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 40.9% | — |
| 2001 | 37.0% | -9.5% |
| 2002 | 32.2% | -13.0% |
| 2003 | 29.2% | -9.3% |
| 2004 | 27.4% | -6.2% |
| 2005 | 25.6% | -6.6% |
| 2006 | 25.7% | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 27.3% | +6.2% |
| 2008 | 29.2% | +7.0% |
| 2009 | 29.7% | +1.7% |
| 2010 | 27.8% | -6.4% |
| 2011 | 24.0% | -13.7% |
| 2012 | 21.8% | -9.2% |
| 2013 | 22.0% | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 23.1% | +5.0% |
| 2015 | 22.6% | -2.2% |
| 2016 | 20.1% | -11.1% |
| 2017 | 19.5% | -3.0% |
| 2018 | 22.5% | +15.4% |
| 2019 | 27.7% | +23.1% |
| 2020 | 33.2% | +19.9% |
| 2021 | 34.0% | +2.4% |
| 2022 | 28.0% | -17.6% |
| 2023 | 22.8% | -18.6% |
| 2024 | 22.6% | -0.9% |
| 2025 | 24.3% | +7.5% |
Jamaica compared with similar countries
- Jamaica's 24.3% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 16.9%, 1.4× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Jamaica's 24.3% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 15.8%, 1.5× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 30.4% | 25.6% | 40.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 23.1% | 19.5% | 27.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.5% | 22.6% | 34.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
More education data for Jamaica
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 11,043 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 4,597 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 52,983 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 51,265 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 177,095 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 211,097 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 8.14 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0744 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both in Jamaica?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both in Jamaica was 24.3% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both recorded in Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 40.9% in 2000.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.5% in 2017.
- How does Jamaica rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both?
- Jamaica ranks 78th out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Jamaica data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes (modelled data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release