Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, poorest in United States
United States: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, poorest was 4.6% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Latest (2020)
4.6%
Change on year
down 54.0%
World rank
40th
of 42 countries
All-time high
10.4%
in 2013
All-time low
4.6%
in 2020
Years of data
6
2013–2020
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, poorest in United States, 2013–2020
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
United States recorded 4.6% for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, poorest in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 6 years on record.
That represents a change of down 54.0% on the previous year and down 55.9% over ten years.
That places United States 40th out of 42 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, poorest in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 10.4% | — |
| 2016 | 8.6% | -17.8% |
| 2017 | 9.4% | +9.6% |
| 2018 | 8.9% | -5.2% |
| 2019 | 10.0% | +12.2% |
| 2020 | 4.6% | -54.0% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 4.6% is below the median for high income countries, which is 7.3%, 63% of the median. (7 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 9.5% | 8.6% | 10.4% | 5 |
| 2020s | 4.6% | 4.6% | 4.6% | 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, poorest in United States?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, poorest in United States was 4.6% in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, poorest recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 10.4% in 2013.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, poorest recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.6% in 2020.
- How does United States rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, poorest?
- United States ranks 40th out of 42 countries with data for 2020.
- Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, poorest rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 55.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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, poorest 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