Kenya: Children out of school (% of primary school age)

Key figures

Since 1999 it is down 4.34 percentage points from 37.24% in 1999. The World Bank has no value for 10 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2022, Kenya's children out of school (% of primary school age) fell 3.38 percentage points on 2021 (from 36.28% to 32.9%).

Across the 10 yearly changes before that (2000 to 2021), the average change was −2.96 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.95 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 4.37 percentage points in 2008 and the biggest yearly fall was 14.41 percentage points in 2003. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

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

How it compares

In 2022, Kenya had the 4th highest value of the 12 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 Kenya in the 2022 ranking

• Cabo Verde — 1st of 12: 41.84%
• Eritrea — 2nd of 12: 40.38%
• Liberia — 3rd of 12: 38.25%
• Benin — 5th of 12: 9.61%
• Colombia — 6th of 12: 7.32%
• United States — 7th of 12: 3.98%

What this measures

Children out of school are the percentage of primary-school-age children who are not enrolled in primary or secondary school. Children in the official primary age group that are in preprimary education should be considered out of 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 14 values

Children out of school (% of primary school age) in nearby economies

• Benin — 9.61% (2022)
• Botswana — 0.54% (2022)
• Burkina Faso — 34.29% (2024)
• Burundi — 26.47% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 41.84% (2022)
• Cameroon — 3.76% (2024)
• Chad — 24.8% (2024)
• Comoros — 20.65% (2024)
• Congo, Rep. — 17.08% (2023)
• Côte d'Ivoire

More education data for Kenya

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 12 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 8.04 million (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 98.25% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 96.63% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 99.85% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 0.97 (2019)
• Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Kenya's children out of school (% of primary school age)?

32.9% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1999?

It is down 4.34 percentage points from 37.24% in 1999. The highest value was 37.24% in 1999 and the lowest 5.01% in 2007.

How does Kenya rank?

4th highest of 12 economies with data for 2022.

Is the latest change in children out of school (% of primary school age) unusual for Kenya?

In 2022, Kenya's children out of school (% of primary school age) fell 3.38 percentage points on 2021 (from 36.28% to 32.9%). Across the 10 yearly changes before that (2000 to 2021), the average change was −2.96 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.95 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.PRM.UNER.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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