Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Tonga
Tonga: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes was 28.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Tonga, 1998–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Tonga recorded 28.7% for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in 2024.
The figure is down 8.7% on the previous year and down 46.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Tonga peaked at 53.6% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 7.0%, in 2021.
Tonga ranks 57th of 184 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Tonga, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 23.3% | — |
| 1999 | 7.4% | -68.4% |
| 2001 | 9.3% | +25.6% |
| 2012 | 34.2% | +269.6% |
| 2013 | 36.3% | +6.1% |
| 2014 | 53.6% | +47.6% |
| 2015 | 47.2% | -12.1% |
| 2018 | 45.6% | -3.3% |
| 2019 | 36.2% | -20.5% |
| 2020 | 40.0% | +10.3% |
| 2021 | 7.0% | -82.5% |
| 2022 | 18.3% | +161.4% |
| 2023 | 31.4% | +71.8% |
| 2024 | 28.7% | -8.7% |
Tonga compared with similar countries
- Tonga's 28.7% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 19.6%, 1.5× the median. (52 countries reporting)
- Tonga's 28.7% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 20.0%, 1.4× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Tonga changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | +269.6% | 9.3% | 34.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 15.3% | 7.4% | 23.3% | 2 |
| 2000s | 9.3% | 9.3% | 9.3% | 1 |
| 2010s | 42.2% | 34.2% | 53.6% | 6 |
| 2020s | 25.1% | 7.0% | 40.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Tonga
More education data for Tonga
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 1,086 (2015)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 20 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1,228 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1,164 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 16,132 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 15,644 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.92 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1502 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Tonga?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Tonga was 28.7% 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 Tonga?
- The highest recorded value was 53.6% in 2014.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes recorded in Tonga?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.0% in 2021.
- How does Tonga rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes?
- Tonga ranks 57th 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 Tonga?
- Over the last ten years it is down 46.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Tonga 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release