Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, middle in United States
United States: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, middle was 5.2% in 2020. ▬ Flat
Latest (2020)
5.2%
Change on year
down 13.6%
World rank
38th
of 42 countries
All-time high
7.4%
in 2018
All-time low
5.2%
in 2020
Years of data
6
2013–2020
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, middle 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, middle in United States stood at 5.2%. That is the lowest value across all 6 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 13.6% on the previous year and down 9.6% over ten years.
United States ranks 38th of 42 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, middle in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 5.8% | — |
| 2016 | 6.0% | +3.8% |
| 2017 | 7.1% | +19.6% |
| 2018 | 7.4% | +3.5% |
| 2019 | 6.0% | -18.5% |
| 2020 | 5.2% | -13.6% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 5.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 5.0%, 1.0× the median. (7 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 6.5% | 5.8% | 7.4% | 5 |
| 2020s | 5.2% | 5.2% | 5.2% | 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, middle in United States?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, middle in United States was 5.2% in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, middle recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 7.4% in 2018.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, middle recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.2% in 2020.
- How does United States rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, middle?
- United States ranks 38th out of 42 countries with data for 2020.
- Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, middle rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- 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, middle 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