Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in China
China: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male was 20.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in China, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
China recorded 20.2% for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.0% on the previous year and down 4.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in China peaked at 49.4% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 13.8%, in 2019.
That places China 103rd out of 206 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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, male in China, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 49.4% | — |
| 2001 | 42.8% | -13.4% |
| 2002 | 35.7% | -16.6% |
| 2003 | 29.8% | -16.5% |
| 2004 | 26.0% | -12.8% |
| 2005 | 23.2% | -10.8% |
| 2006 | 21.7% | -6.5% |
| 2007 | 21.9% | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 23.5% | +7.3% |
| 2009 | 25.9% | +10.2% |
| 2010 | 27.8% | +7.3% |
| 2011 | 28.1% | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 28.2% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 27.8% | -1.4% |
| 2014 | 25.4% | -8.6% |
| 2015 | 21.2% | -16.5% |
| 2016 | 17.4% | -17.9% |
| 2017 | 15.5% | -10.9% |
| 2018 | 14.5% | -6.5% |
| 2019 | 13.8% | -4.8% |
| 2020 | 14.0% | +1.4% |
| 2021 | 15.1% | +7.9% |
| 2022 | 16.7% | +10.6% |
| 2023 | 18.6% | +11.4% |
| 2024 | 19.8% | +6.5% |
| 2025 | 20.2% | +2.0% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 20.2% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 20.0%, 1.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- China's 20.2% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 23.1%, 87% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 30.0% | 21.7% | 49.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.0% | 13.8% | 28.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.4% | 14.0% | 20.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
- 104 Bosnia and Herzegovina 20.1% compare
- 105 Algeria 19.8% compare
- 106 Philippines 19.6% compare
More education data for China
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.41 million (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 7,020 (2021)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 21.58 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 19.36 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 97.98 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 108.57 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9587 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0771 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in China?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in China was 20.2% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 49.4% in 2000.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.8% in 2019.
- How does China rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male?
- China ranks 103rd out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China 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, male (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