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

Key figures

Since 1972 it is down 19.43 percentage points from 22.95% in 1972. The World Bank has no value for 22 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 3.16 percentage points in 2013 and the biggest yearly fall was 8.47 percentage points in 2005. 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 2024, Zambia had the 56th highest value of the 101 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 Zambia in the 2024 ranking

• Cameroon — 53rd of 101: 3.76%
• Cambodia — 54th of 101: 3.69%
• Brunei Darussalam — 55th of 101: 3.61%
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 57th of 101: 3.51%
• Madagascar — 58th of 101: 3.4%
• Estonia — 59th of 101: 3.39%

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 31 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 Zambia

• Primary school starting age (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 14 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 5 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 4.49 million (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 115.55% (2024)
• Over-age students, primary (% of enrollment) — 13.95% (2017)
• Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP) — 4.07% (2023)
• Over-age students, primary, female (% of female enrollment) — 13.08% (2017)
• Over-age students, primary, male (% of male enrollment)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

3.51% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1972?

It is down 19.43 percentage points from 22.95% in 1972. The highest value was 32.21% in 2001 and the lowest 3.51% in 2024.

How does Zambia rank?

56th highest of 101 economies with data for 2024.

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.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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