Share of children out of school — all countries

Share of children out of school — Southern Asia

Share of children out of school in Southern Asia in 2024 — 3.93%. Since 2009, the indicator has risen by 0.69 pp.

2024 3.93% −2.56 pp vs 2023
World rank —
Period maximum 6.49%2023
Period minimum 0.95%2012

Trend over time

2009–2024 · % of primary school-age children

Share of children out of school — Southern Asia, 2009–2024024682009201120132015201720192021202320242009: 3.25%2010: 2.34%2011: 2.86%2012: 0.95%2016: 4%2017: 5.48%2022: 5.69%2023: 6.49%2024: 3.93%
Change over the period: +0.69 pp Annual average: 0.05 pp
Share of children out of school — Southern Asia, by year Southern Asia All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2024 3.93 −2.56 pp
2023 6.49 +0.8 pp
2022 5.69 —
2017 5.48 +1.48 pp
2016 4 —
2012 0.95 −1.91 pp
2011 2.86 +0.52 pp
2010 2.34 −0.91 pp
2009 3.25 —

About the indicator

The share of children of primary school age not attending school. Unlike the absolute count, the indicator speaks to the state of the education system in a country, and it shows that the task does not reduce to poverty: at comparable income the shares differ severalfold, and the highest values come from countries where schooling is obstructed by conflict or by a nomadic way of life.

Important: The aggregate is weighted by the number of children aged 0–14: total population is the wrong weight here — the share of children differs fourfold across countries.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), license CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.