Out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Kenya
Kenya: Out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes was 1.96 million in 2023. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Kenya, 2000–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Kenya is 1.96 million, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 12 years on record.
The figure is up 32.6% on the previous year and up 75.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Kenya peaked at 1.96 million in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1.12 million, in 2009.
Kenya ranks 6th of 184 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 12 years of available data.
Out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Kenya, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.33 million | — |
| 2002 | 1.37 million | +2.8% |
| 2003 | 1.40 million | +2.2% |
| 2004 | 1.29 million | -7.9% |
| 2005 | 1.30 million | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 1.35 million | +3.6% |
| 2007 | 1.67 million | +23.7% |
| 2008 | 1.14 million | -31.6% |
| 2009 | 1.12 million | -2.2% |
| 2021 | 1.52 million | +36.3% |
| 2022 | 1.48 million | -2.8% |
| 2023 | 1.96 million | +32.6% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 1.96 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 252,390, 7.8× the median. (39 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 1.96 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 520,818, 3.8× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.33 million | 1.12 million | 1.67 million | 9 |
| 2020s | 1.66 million | 1.48 million | 1.96 million | 3 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More education data for Kenya
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 168,396 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 235,728 (2016)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.44 million (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.44 million (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.74 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 8.04 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.7181 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1453 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Kenya?
- Out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Kenya was 1.96 million in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes recorded in Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 1.96 million in 2023.
- What is the lowest out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.12 million in 2009.
- How does Kenya rank for out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes?
- Kenya ranks 6th out of 184 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 75.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release