Sierra Leone: Adolescents out of school, male (% of male lower secondary school age)

Key figures

What the numbers say

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 9.17 percentage points in 2018 and the biggest yearly fall was 25.42 percentage points in 2019. 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 2023 the straight-line trend is downward, about 4.37 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 75% 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

In 2023, Sierra Leone had the 5th highest value of the 26 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 Sierra Leone in the 2023 ranking

• Jamaica — 2nd of 26: 21.26%
• Panama — 3rd of 26: 21.08%
• Romania — 4th of 26: 16.1%
• Ecuador — 6th of 26: 14.58%
• Nicaragua — 7th of 26: 12.42%
• South Africa — 8th of 26: 10.44%

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 10 values

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

• Botswana — 9.54% (2022)
• Burkina Faso — 63.04% (2024)
• Burundi — 39.2% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 83.09% (2022)
• Cameroon — 45.25% (2023)
• Chad — 53.83% (2024)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 32.1% (2024)
• Eritrea — 32.03% (2022)
• Eswatini

More education data for Sierra Leone

• 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) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 2.07 million (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 162.12% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 166.35% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 157.95% (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 46,575 (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI)

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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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

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

15.4% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2013?

It is down 24.11 percentage points from 39.51% in 2013. The highest value was 48.74% in 2018 and the lowest 9.75% in 2022.

How does Sierra Leone rank?

5th highest of 26 economies with data for 2023.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, 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..

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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