people and planet

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TABLE 10.2:
Countries with the largest out-of-school numbers and rates, 2014 or latest available year
Out-of-school rate (%)
Primary school age Lower secondary school age Upper secondary school age Children of primary school age
Out of school (millions)
Adolescents of lower secondary
school age
Youth of upper secondary
school age
Liberia 62 Niger 70 Niger 89 Pakistan 5.6 India 11.1 India 46.8
Eritrea 59 Eritrea 62 C. A. R. 84 India 2.9 Pakistan 5.5 Pakistan 10.4
Sudan 45 C. A. R. 55 Burkina Faso 77 Sudan 2.7 Ethiopia 3.6 Indonesia 4.0
Djibouti 43 Guinea 52 Mauritania 73 Ethiopia 2.1 Indonesia 1.9 Mexico 3.0
Equat. Guinea 42 Pakistan 48 Mozambique 71 Indonesia 2.0 Myanmar 1.9 Brazil 1.8
Source: UIS database.
The percentage of out-of-school children who live in
conflict-affected countries increased from 29% in 2000
to 35% in 2014 (21.5 million children); among girls, it was
37%. In Northern Africa and Western Asia, the share
increased from 63% in 2000 to 91% in 2014. Globally,
the percentage of out-of-school adolescents who live in
conflict-affected countries also increased from 21% to
25% over the same period.
As mentioned above, caution is needed in interpreting
the percentage of adolescents and youth in school.
In Mozambique, 71% of adolescents in school were
enrolled at the primary level in 2014. High percentages
of students at a lower education level than the one
expected for their age are cause for concern. An
important factor that is linked to leaving school,
especially at the secondary education level, is over-age
students – generally due to a combination of late entry
to school and repetition.
The global share of repeaters in primary education was
3.8% in 2014, but regional figures ranged from 0.1% in
Caucasus and Central Asia to 5.9% in Northern Africa and
Western Asia and 8.3% in sub-Saharan Africa. The share of
repeaters at the secondary level was 3.9%, with figures as
high as 8.9% in Latin America and the Caribbean and 12.1%
in sub-Saharan Africa.
the over-age pattern in
primary education by
The countries with the
an average difference
10 highest proportions of at least 7 percentage
of over-age primary points in a sample
of 22 low and middle
school students are all
income countries. In
in sub-Saharan Africa some countries, the gap
and have more than is very large. In Sierra
Leone, the percentage
35% over-age students
of over-age students
was 36%, according to
the 2013 Demographic
and Health Survey (DHS), but only 14% according to
the UIS.
Household survey data help illustrate why monitoring
over-age attendance is important, especially among
girls. The percentage of over-age students is already
high from the first grade but generally increases as
students repeat and fall further behind. However, in
Ghana, the percentage of over-age girls was 57% among
grade 5 students but 50% among grade 8 students. In
Malawi, it was 51% in grade 6 but 34% in grade 8, while
the percentage of over-age boys stayed the same. Since
students rarely skip grades, this suggests that those
over-age are more likely to drop out (Figure 10.3a).
Administrative data are available on the percentage of
students who are over-age – that is, at least two years
older than the official age for their grade. Globally, 4% of
primary and 10% of lower secondary school students are
over-age according to UIS data. But in the 10 countries
where the problem is most severe, all of which are in
sub-Saharan Africa, more than 35% of primary school
students are over-age.
Analysis of household survey data for this report
indicates that administrative data may underestimate
Household surveys also indicate that late entry is more
common among children from poor households. In
Haiti, 36% of the poorest 60% of students, but 21% of
the richest 40%, entered primary school at least two
years later than the official entrance age in 2012. The
gap almost doubled by grade 4, when 75% of the poorest
students were over-age, suggesting they were more
likely to repeat school and fall behind. In Haiti, as well as
in Swaziland, the percentage of the over-age among the
poorest stops rising after grade 5 suggesting that they
are more likely to leave school (Figure 10.3b).
2016 • GLOBAL EDUCATION MONITORING REPORT 183