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

Key figures

Over five years it is up 7.4 percentage points from 0.07% in 2011. Since 1971 it is down 38.25 percentage points from 45.72% in 1971. 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 2016, Kuwait's children out of school (% of primary school age) rose 4.41 percentage points on 2015 (from 3.05% to 7.47%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1974 to 2015), the average change was −1.08 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.2 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.7 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 4.63 percentage points in 1987 and the biggest yearly fall was 11.25 percentage points in 1998. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2007 to 2016 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.56 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 56% of the movement over 9 observed years.

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

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Kuwait in the 2016 ranking

• Yemen, Rep. — 1st of 2: 30.62%

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 39 values

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

• Algeria — 1.57% (2025)
• Bahrain — 4.75% (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 3.51% (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 0.1% (2023)
• Israel — 2.66% (2024)
• Jordan — 1.89% (2024)
• Lebanon — 22.51% (2024)
• Malta — 2.64% (2023)
• Morocco — 0.47% (2021)
• Oman

More education data for Kuwait

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 5 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 11 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1.15 (2021)
• Primary education, pupils — 265,113 (2021)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 82.36% (2021)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 88.67% (2021)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 77.02% (2021)
• Primary education, teachers — 32,782 (2021)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

7.47% in 2016, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1971?

It is down 38.25 percentage points from 45.72% in 1971. The highest value was 45.72% in 1971 and the lowest 0.07% in 2011.

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

In 2016, Kuwait's children out of school (% of primary school age) rose 4.41 percentage points on 2015 (from 3.05% to 7.47%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1974 to 2015), the average change was −1.08 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.2 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.7 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Where does this data come from?

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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