Upper middle income: Adolescents out of school (% of lower secondary school age)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Upper middle income's adolescents out of school (% of lower secondary school age) fell 0.1 percentage points on 2024 (from 6% to 5.9%).

Across the 24 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2024), the average change was −0.24 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.37 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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 0.2 percentage points in 2006 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.1 percentage points in 2001. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 11% 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.

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 26 values

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

• Algeria — 77.57% (2025)
• Bahrain — 2.68% (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 6.64% (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 7.58% (2023)
• Israel — 2.15% (2024)
• Jordan — 1.97% (2024)
• Kuwait — 22.93% (2021)
• Lebanon — 32.49% (2024)
• Malta — 1.88% (2023)

More education data for Upper middle income

• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• School enrollment, tertiary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1.16 (2024)
• Primary education, pupils — 237.35 million (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 100.67% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 100.7% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 100.65% (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 13.41 million (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 233.28 million (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Upper middle income's adolescents out of school (% of lower secondary school age)?

5.9% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is down 5.9 percentage points from 11.8% in 2000. The highest value was 11.8% in 2000 and the lowest 5.7% in 2015.

Is the latest change in adolescents out of school (% of lower secondary school age) unusual for Upper middle income?

In 2025, Upper middle income's adolescents out of school (% of lower secondary school age) fell 0.1 percentage points on 2024 (from 6% to 5.9%). Across the 24 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2024), the average change was −0.24 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.37 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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.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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