El Salvador: Adolescents out of school, male (% of male lower secondary school age)

Key figures

Over five years it is up 32.07 percentage points from 22.9% in 2019. Since 2000 it is up 39.57 percentage points from 15.41% in 2000. The World Bank has no value for 7 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2024, El Salvador's adolescents out of school, male (% of male lower secondary school age) rose 30.69 percentage points on 2023 (from 24.29% to 54.97%).

Across the 14 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was +0.68 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.89 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 10.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 30.69 percentage points in 2024 and the biggest yearly fall was 4.89 percentage points in 2002. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 2.69 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 53% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2024, El Salvador had the 5th highest value of the 67 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to El Salvador in the 2024 ranking

• Senegal — 2nd of 67: 68.94%
• Burkina Faso — 3rd of 67: 63.04%
• Ethiopia — 4th of 67: 55.37%
• Syrian Arab Republic — 6th of 67: 54.02%
• Chad — 7th of 67: 53.83%
• Suriname — 8th of 67: 47.13%

What this measures

Adolescents out of school are the percentage of lower secondary school age adolescents who are not enrolled in school.

Limitations: The administrative data used in the calculation of the rate of out-of-school children are based on enrolment at a specific date which can bias the results by either counting enrolled children who never attend school or by omitting those who enroll after the reference date for reporting enrolment data. Furthermore, children who drop out of school after the reference date are not counted as out of school. Discrepancies between enrolment and population data from different sources can also result in over- or underestimates of the rate.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 18 values

Adolescents out of school, male (% of male lower secondary school age) in nearby economies

• Barbados — 1.53% (2024)
• Belize — 7.85% (2024)
• Bolivia — 7.73% (2024)
• Brazil — 3.02% (2024)
• Cayman Islands — 4.12% (2024)
• Chile — 0.11% (2022)
• Colombia — 5.14% (2022)
• Costa Rica — 7.47% (2024)
• Cuba

More education data for El Salvador

• Primary school starting age (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 13 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 594,860 (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 89.88% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 90.18% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 89.6% (2024)
• School enrollment, tertiary (% gross) — 32.83% (2024)
• Primary education, pupils (% female)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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Questions people ask

What is El Salvador's adolescents out of school, male (% of male lower secondary school age)?

54.97% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is up 39.57 percentage points from 15.41% in 2000. The highest value was 54.97% in 2024 and the lowest 2.71% in 2005.

How does El Salvador rank?

5th highest of 67 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in adolescents out of school, male (% of male lower secondary school age) unusual for El Salvador?

In 2024, El Salvador's adolescents out of school, male (% of male lower secondary school age) rose 30.69 percentage points on 2023 (from 24.29% to 54.97%). Across the 14 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was +0.68 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.89 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 10.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.SEC.UNER.LO.MA.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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