Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes was 28.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Sierra Leone, 2013–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Sierra Leone stood at 28.2%.
The figure is up 4.1% on the previous year and down 58.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Sierra Leone peaked at 68.2% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 27.1%, in 2023.
That places Sierra Leone 60th out of 184 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 68.2% | — |
| 2015 | 60.4% | -11.5% |
| 2016 | 63.2% | +4.6% |
| 2017 | 61.3% | -2.9% |
| 2018 | 66.0% | +7.5% |
| 2019 | 54.9% | -16.8% |
| 2020 | 50.7% | -7.5% |
| 2021 | 39.5% | -22.1% |
| 2022 | 29.8% | -24.5% |
| 2023 | 27.1% | -9.3% |
| 2024 | 28.2% | +4.1% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 28.2% is below the median for low income countries, which is 68.7%, 41% of the median. (17 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 28.2% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 55.3%, 51% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 62.3% | 54.9% | 68.2% | 6 |
| 2020s | 35.1% | 27.1% | 50.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
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 youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Sierra Leone?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Sierra Leone was 28.2% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 68.2% in 2013.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 27.1% in 2023.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes?
- Sierra Leone ranks 60th out of 184 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is down 58.7%. 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 youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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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