Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, fourth in United States
United States: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, fourth was 4.3% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Latest (2020)
4.3%
Change on year
down 41.7%
World rank
37th
of 42 countries
All-time high
7.4%
in 2019
All-time low
4.0%
in 2013
Years of data
6
2013–2020
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, fourth in United States, 2013–2020
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, fourth in United States stood at 4.3%.
The figure is down 41.7% on the previous year and up 7.5% over ten years.
United States ranks 37th of 42 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, fourth in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 4.0% | — |
| 2016 | 5.3% | +31.8% |
| 2017 | 4.8% | -9.2% |
| 2018 | 4.5% | -7.5% |
| 2019 | 7.4% | +66.5% |
| 2020 | 4.3% | -41.7% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 4.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.8%, 2.4× the median. (7 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5.2% | 4.0% | 7.4% | 5 |
| 2020s | 4.3% | 4.3% | 4.3% | 1 |
Countries ranked near United States
More education data for United States
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 1.74 million (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 419,732 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 4.34 million (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 4.14 million (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 25.35 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 23.83 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.33 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0708 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, fourth in United States?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, fourth in United States was 4.3% in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, fourth recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 7.4% in 2019.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, fourth recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.0% in 2013.
- How does United States rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, fourth?
- United States ranks 37th out of 42 countries with data for 2020.
- Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, fourth rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States 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, fourth quintile, both sexes (household survey data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 6 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release