Timor-Leste: Adolescents out of school, male (% of male lower secondary school age)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Timor-Leste's adolescents out of school, male (% of male lower secondary school age) rose 0.33 percentage points on 2019 (from 15.76% to 16.09%).

Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2009 to 2019), the average change was −0.46 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.34 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations above 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 2.4 percentage points in 2018 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.1 percentage points in 2011. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2011 to 2020 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains less than 1% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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 Timor-Leste in the 2020 ranking

• Poland — 2nd of 2: 4.45%

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 13 values

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

• Cambodia — 20.07% (2024)
• Fiji — 3.42% (2016)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 4.09% (2021)
• Indonesia — 7.8% (2023)
• Korea, Rep. — 2.78% (2024)
• Lao PDR — 36.58% (2025)
• Macao SAR, China — 8.42% (2024)
• Malaysia — 20.4% (2024)
• Micronesia, Fed. Sts.

More education data for Timor-Leste

• 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)
• Preprimary education, duration (years) — 3 (2025)
• Compulsory education, duration (years) — 9 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 227,656 (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 119.65% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 120.59% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Timor-Leste's adolescents out of school, male (% of male lower secondary school age)?

16.09% in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2008?

It is down 4.75 percentage points from 20.84% in 2008. The highest value was 20.84% in 2008 and the lowest 13.33% in 2016.

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

In 2020, Timor-Leste's adolescents out of school, male (% of male lower secondary school age) rose 0.33 percentage points on 2019 (from 15.76% to 16.09%). Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2009 to 2019), the average change was −0.46 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.34 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations above 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.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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