Share of children out of school — all countries

Share of children out of school — OPEC

Share of children out of school in OPEC in 2007 — 21.24%. Since 1978, the indicator has risen by 0.68 pp.

2007 21.24% −1.51 pp vs 2005
World rank
Period maximum 26.19%1999
Period minimum 20.57%1978

Trend over time

1978–2007 · % of primary school-age children

Share of children out of school — OPEC, 1978–20072022242628197819811984198719901993199619992002200520071978: 20.57%1999: 26.19%2000: 25.03%2004: 21.92%2005: 22.75%2007: 21.24%
Change over the period: +0.68 pp Annual average: 0.02 pp
Share of children out of school — OPEC, by year OPEC All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2007 21.24
2005 22.75 +0.83 pp
2004 21.92
2000 25.03 −1.16 pp
1999 26.19
1978 20.57

About the indicator

The share of children of primary school age not attending school. Unlike the absolute count, the indicator speaks to the state of the education system in a country, and it shows that the task does not reduce to poverty: at comparable income the shares differ severalfold, and the highest values come from countries where schooling is obstructed by conflict or by a nomadic way of life.

Important: The aggregate is weighted by the number of children aged 0–14: total population is the wrong weight here — the share of children differs fourfold across countries.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), license CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.