Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in Zambia
Zambia: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female was 52.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in Zambia, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in Zambia is 52.5%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.7% on the previous year and up 25.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in Zambia peaked at 62.5% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 38.7%, in 2013.
Zambia ranks 34th of 206 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
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, female in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 61.8% | — |
| 2001 | 62.0% | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 62.1% | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 62.2% | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 62.5% | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 61.5% | -1.6% |
| 2006 | 58.5% | -4.9% |
| 2007 | 54.3% | -7.2% |
| 2008 | 50.4% | -7.2% |
| 2009 | 47.4% | -6.0% |
| 2010 | 45.1% | -4.9% |
| 2011 | 42.9% | -4.9% |
| 2012 | 40.5% | -5.6% |
| 2013 | 38.7% | -4.4% |
| 2014 | 38.9% | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 41.7% | +7.2% |
| 2016 | 46.0% | +10.3% |
| 2017 | 50.1% | +8.9% |
| 2018 | 53.0% | +5.8% |
| 2019 | 54.8% | +3.4% |
| 2020 | 55.7% | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 56.3% | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 57.0% | +1.2% |
| 2023 | 56.7% | -0.5% |
| 2024 | 55.1% | -2.8% |
| 2025 | 52.5% | -4.7% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 52.5% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 35.0%, 1.5× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 52.5% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 51.9%, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 58.3% | 47.4% | 62.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 45.2% | 38.7% | 54.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 55.6% | 52.5% | 57.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More education data for Zambia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 42,585 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 169,961 (2013)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.39 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.49 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.55 % change on previous year (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.2106 units per person (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 4.49 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in Zambia?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in Zambia was 52.5% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 62.5% in 2004.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 38.7% in 2013.
- How does Zambia rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female?
- Zambia ranks 34th out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 25.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia 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, female (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