Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in Zambia
Zambia: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male was 40.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in Zambia, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Zambia recorded 40.8% for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.6% on the previous year and up 54.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in Zambia peaked at 44.2% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 23.4%, in 2013.
That places Zambia 51st out of 206 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 40.0% | — |
| 2001 | 40.2% | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 39.5% | -1.7% |
| 2003 | 38.8% | -1.8% |
| 2004 | 38.9% | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 38.5% | -1.0% |
| 2006 | 36.2% | -6.0% |
| 2007 | 32.4% | -10.5% |
| 2008 | 29.0% | -10.5% |
| 2009 | 27.3% | -5.9% |
| 2010 | 26.4% | -3.3% |
| 2011 | 25.5% | -3.4% |
| 2012 | 24.2% | -5.1% |
| 2013 | 23.4% | -3.3% |
| 2014 | 23.8% | +1.7% |
| 2015 | 26.4% | +10.9% |
| 2016 | 30.6% | +15.9% |
| 2017 | 34.5% | +12.7% |
| 2018 | 37.0% | +7.2% |
| 2019 | 38.1% | +3.0% |
| 2020 | 39.2% | +2.9% |
| 2021 | 40.9% | +4.3% |
| 2022 | 43.2% | +5.6% |
| 2023 | 44.2% | +2.3% |
| 2024 | 43.2% | -2.3% |
| 2025 | 40.8% | -5.6% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 40.8% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 38.2%, 1.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 40.8% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 50.2%, 81% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 36.1% | 27.3% | 40.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 29.0% | 23.4% | 38.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 41.9% | 39.2% | 44.2% | 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, male in Zambia?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in Zambia was 40.8% 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 44.2% in 2023.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 23.4% in 2013.
- How does Zambia rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male?
- Zambia ranks 51st 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 Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 54.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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, 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