Zambia's share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of youth population) was 26.69% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 5.85 percentage points from 32.54% in 2019.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 26.69% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 32.54% | 2019 |
| Highest | 41.37% | 2015 |
| Lowest | 12.94% | 2008 |
| Average since 2015 | 31.5% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 12.94% | 2008 |
Over five years it is down 5.85 percentage points from 32.54% in 2019. Since 2008 it is up 13.75 percentage points from 12.94% in 2008. 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
From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is downward, about 1.13 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 63% 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 2024, Zambia had the 5th highest value of the 16 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Zambia | 26.69% | 2024 |
| Lower middle income | 21.8% | 2024 |
Closest to Zambia in the 2024 ranking
- South Africa — 2nd of 16: 34.61%
- Mali — 3rd of 16: 30.12%
- Kosovo — 4th of 16: 30.04%
- Iran, Islamic Rep. — 6th of 16: 24.32%
- Egypt, Arab Rep. — 7th of 16: 23.78%
- Albania — 8th of 16: 21.03%
What this measures
The share of youth not in education, employment or training (also known as “the NEET rate”) conveys the number of young persons not in education, employment or training as a percentage of the total youth population. Youth not in education are those who were neither enrolled in school nor in a formal training program (e.g. vocational training). For the purposes of this indicator, youth is defined as all persons between the ages of 15 and 24 (inclusive).
Limitations: When differing from international standards, the operational criteria used to define employment and the participation in education or training will naturally affect the comparability of the resulting statistics, as will the coverage of the source of statistics (geographical coverage, population coverage, age coverage, etc.). NEET rates are calculated preferably for youth defined as persons aged 15 to 24, but when studying these rates it is important to keep in mind that not all persons complete their education by the age of 24.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 10 values
| Year | Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of youth population) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 26.69 |
| 2023 | 28.93 |
| 2022 | 29.37 |
| 2021 | 31.36 |
| 2020 | 31.06 |
| 2019 | 32.54 |
| 2018 | 32.83 |
| 2017 | 29.34 |
| 2016 | no data |
| 2015 | 41.37 |
Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of youth population) in nearby economies
More social protection & labor data for Zambia
- Net migration — 6,562 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum — 83,225 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of origin — 346 (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 34.44% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 39.38% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 36.89% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 56.75% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Zambia's share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of youth population)?
- 26.69% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2008?
- It is up 13.75 percentage points from 12.94% in 2008. The highest value was 41.37% in 2015 and the lowest 12.94% in 2008.
- How does Zambia rank?
- 5th highest of 16 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: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: September 28, 2026.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SL.UEM.NEET.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: September 28, 2026 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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