Children out of school

UNICEF estimates that 101 million children of primary school age were not in school in 2007. Of these children, there were 53 million girls and 48 million boys.
 
National and regional estimates for the number of children out of school are listed in the table below. To calculate these numbers, UNICEF first identified the primary school net enrolment rate (NER) or net attendance rate (NAR) in each country, relying mainly on enrolment data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and attendance data from MICS and DHS household surveys.
 
Next, regional averages of the NER or NAR were calculated, using each country’s population of primary school age as a weight. By applying the average NER or NAR to each region’s population of primary school age, the number of children in and out of school at the regional level can be calculated. The sum of the regional numbers yields the global number of children out of school.
 
The NER or NAR was also applied to the population of primary school age in each country to calculate national estimates of the number of children out of school. Because of missing data for some countries, the sum of the national values is slightly smaller than the sum of the regional values.  

Main data sources:

Primary school net enrolment rate (NER): UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), Data Centre, May 2008.
 
Primary school net attendance rate (NAR): Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), 2000–2007.
 
Population: United Nations Population Division, World population prospects: The 2006 revision, 2007.
 
Official school ages: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), Data Centre, May 2008.

 

Download File
Country	Primary NER or NAR, 2000-2007*				Children of primary school age out of school (thousands), 2007			Official primary school age (years)	Source of primary NER or NAR
	Male	Female	Total	Year	Male	Female	Total
Afghanistan	74	46	61	2007	626	1190	1816	7 - 12	Ministry of Education 2008 (NER)
Albania	94	93	94	2004	6	7	13	6 - 9	UIS 2008 (NER)
Algeria	96	94	95	2006	69	108	177	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Andorra	83	83	83	2006	0	0	0	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Angola	58	59	58	2001	415	409	824	6 - 9	MICS 2001 (NAR)
Antigua and Barbuda	-	-	-		-	-	-	5 - 11
Argentina	99	98	99	2005	19	42	61	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Armenia	99	98	99	2005	1	1	2	7 - 9	DHS 2005 (NAR)
Australia	96	97	96	2006	37	29	66	5 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Austria	97	98	97	2006	6	3	9	6 - 9	UIS 2008 (NER)
Azerbaijan	74	72	73	2006	68	65	133	6 - 9	DHS 2006 (NAR)
Bahamas	87	89	88	2006	2	2	4	5 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Bahrain	98	98	98	2005	1	1	2	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Bangladesh	79	84	81	2006	1928	1419	3347	6 - 10	MICS 2006 (NAR)
Barbados	97	96	96	2006	0	0	0	5 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Belarus	90	89	89	2006	18	20	38	6 - 9	UIS 2008 (NER)
Belgium	97	98	97	2006	10	9	19	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Belize	97	97	97	2006	1	1	2	5 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Benin	72	62	67	2006	215	277	492	6 - 11	DHS 2006 (NAR)
Bhutan	74	67	70	2003	13	16	29	6 - 12	LSS 2003 (NAR)
Bolivia	78	77	78	2003-04	154	155	309	6 - 11	DHS 2003-04 (NAR)
Bosnia and Herzegovina	92	89	91	2006	8	10	18	6 - 9	MICS 2006 (NAR)
Botswana	83	85	84	2005	27	22	49	6 - 12	UIS 2008 (NER)
Brazil	94	95	94	2005	460	313	773	7 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Brunei Darussalam	94	94	94	2006	1	1	2	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Bulgaria	93	92	92	2006	10	10	20	7 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Burkina Faso	52	42	47	2006	604	699	1303	7 - 12	UIS 2008 (NER)
Burundi	76	73	75	2006	160	177	337	7 - 12	UIS 2008 (NER)
Cambodia	91	89	90	2006	95	110	205	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Cameroon	86	81	84	2006	202	273	475	6 - 11	MICS 2006 (NAR)
Canada	99	100	100	2000	8	3	11	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Cape Verde	88	87	88	2006	5	5	10	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Central African Republic	64	54	59	2006	127	164	291	6 - 11	MICS 2006 (NAR)
Chad	41	31	36	2004	551	635	1186	6 - 11	DHS 2004 (NAR)
Chile	-	-	-		-	-	-	6 - 11
China	99	99	99	2006	349	306	655	7 - 11	Ministry of Education 2007 (NER)
Colombia	89	88	89	2006	265	259	524	6 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Comoros	75	71	73	2007	17	19	36	6 - 11	Ministry of Education 2007 (NER)
Congo	86	87	86	2005	44	40	84	6 - 11	DHS 2005 (NAR)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the	55	49	52	2001	2435	2768	5203	6 - 11	MICS 2001 (NAR)
Cook Islands	73	75	74	2005	0	0	0	5 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Costa Rica	91	93	92	2006	23	18	41	6 - 11	Ministry of Education 2006 (NER)
Côte d'Ivoire	66	57	62	2006	514	650	1164	6 - 11	MICS 2006 (NAR)
Croatia	91	90	90	2006	9	9	18	7 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Cuba	96	97	97	2006	16	13	29	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Cyprus	99	99	99	2006	0	0	0	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Czech Republic	91	94	93	2005	20	14	34	6 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Denmark	95	96	96	2006	11	8	19	7 - 12	UIS 2008 (NER)
Djibouti	80	78	79	2006	12	14	26	6 - 11	MICS 2006 (NAR)
Dominica	75	80	77	2006	0	0	0	5 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Dominican Republic	77	79	78	2006	153	135	288	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Ecuador	96	97	97	2006	32	24	56	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Egypt	98	94	96	2007	98	302	400	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
El Salvador	94	94	94	2006	28	26	54	7 - 12	UIS 2008 (NER)
Equatorial Guinea	61	60	61	2000	13	13	26	7 - 11	MICS 2000 (NAR)
Eritrea	50	43	47	2006	158	176	334	7 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Estonia	95	94	94	2006	2	2	4	7 - 12	UIS 2008 (NER)
Ethiopia	45	45	45	2005	3780	3731	7511	7 - 12	DHS 2005 (NAR)
Fiji	91	91	91	2006	5	5	10	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Finland	97	97	97	2006	6	5	11	7 - 12	UIS 2008 (NER)
France	98	99	99	2006	31	22	53	6 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Gabon	94	94	94	2000-01	5	5	10	6 - 11	DHS 2000-01 (NAR)
Gambia	59	64	62	2006	53	46	99	7 - 12	UIS 2008 (NER)
Georgia	94	95	95	2005	9	7	16	6 - 11	MICS 2005 (NAR)
Germany	98	98	98	2006	29	26	55	6 - 9	UIS 2008 (NER)
Ghana	73	71	72	2007	490	502	992	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Greece	100	99	100	2006	1	2	3	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Grenada	84	83	84	2005	1	1	2	5 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Guatemala	96	92	94	2006	39	81	120	7 - 12	UIS 2008 (NER)
Guinea	55	48	51	2005	339	380	719	7 - 12	DHS 2005 (NAR)
Guinea-Bissau	54	53	54	2006	65	67	132	7 - 12	MICS 2006 (NAR)
Guyana	96	96	96	2006	2	2	4	6 - 11	MICS 2006 (NAR)
Haiti	48	52	50	2005-06	372	334	706	6 - 11	DHS 2005-06 (NAR)
Holy See	-	-	-		-	-	-	-
Honduras	77	80	79	2006	126	107	233	6 - 11	DHS 2005-06 (NAR)
Hungary	89	88	88	2006	23	24	47	7 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Iceland	98	97	98	2006	0	0	0	6 - 12	UIS 2008 (NER)
India	85	81	83	2005-06	9633	11037	20670	6 - 10	DHS 2005-06 (NAR)
Indonesia	97	94	96	2006	363	775	1138	7 - 12	UIS 2008 (NER)
Iran (Islamic Republic of)	91	100	94	2006	272	3	275	6 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Iraq	95	82	89	2005	115	418	533	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Ireland	95	95	95	2006	13	11	24	4 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Israel	96	98	97	2006	14	9	23	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Italy	99	98	99	2006	14	22	36	6 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Jamaica	97	98	97	2005	5	4	9	6 - 11	MICS 2005 (NAR)
Japan	100	100	100	2006	15	0	15	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Jordan	89	91	90	2006	49	40	89	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Kazakhstan	99	98	98	2006	7	11	18	7 - 10	MICS 2006 (NAR)
Kenya	75	76	76	2006	752	706	1458	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Kiribati	96	98	97	2002	0	0	0	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of	-	-	-		-	-	-	6 - 9
Korea, Republic of	100	93	98	2007	2	118	120	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Kuwait	84	83	84	2006	18	18	36	6 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Kyrgyzstan	91	93	92	2006	19	14	33	7 - 10	MICS 2006 (NAR)
Lao People's Democratic Republic	86	81	84	2006	53	69	122	6 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Latvia	89	92	90	2005	4	3	7	7 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Lebanon	82	82	82	2006	42	42	84	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Lesotho	82	88	85	2004-05	34	22	56	6 - 12	DHS 2004-05 (NAR)
Liberia	40	39	40	2006	194	197	391	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya	-	-	-		-	-	-	6 - 11
Liechtenstein	87	89	88	2004	0	0	0	6 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Lithuania	90	89	89	2006	7	8	15	7 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Luxembourg	96	98	97	2006	1	0	1	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Madagascar	74	77	76	2003-04	361	314	675	6 - 10	DHS 2003-04 (NAR)
Malawi	88	94	91	2006	148	76	224	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Malaysia	100	100	100	2005	0	5	5	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Maldives	97	97	97	2006	1	1	2	6 - 12	UIS 2008 (NER)
Mali	68	54	61	2006	345	492	837	7 - 12	UIS 2008 (NER)
Malta	92	91	91	2005	1	1	2	5 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Marshall Islands	67	66	66	2007	0	0	0	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Mauritania	56	59	57	2007	108	96	204	6 - 11	MICS 2007 (NAR)
Mauritius	94	96	95	2006	3	2	5	5 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Mexico	98	97	98	2006	116	177	293	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Micronesia (Federated States of)	-	-	92	2000	-	-	-	6 - 11	Regional MDG report (NER)
Moldova, Republic of	88	88	88	2006	12	11	23	7 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Monaco	-	-	-		-	-	-	6 - 10
Mongolia	96	98	97	2005	4	2	6	7 - 11	MICS 2005 (NAR)
Montenegro	98	97	97	2005	0	0	0	-	MICS 2005 (NAR)
Morocco	91	85	88	2006	170	260	430	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Mozambique	63	57	60	2003-04	766	889	1655	6 - 12	DHS 2003-04 (NAR)
Myanmar	83	84	84	2003	372	325	697	5 - 9	MICS 2003 (NAR)
Namibia	91	91	91	2006	18	16	34	6 - 12	DHS 2006 (NAR)
Nauru	-	-	60	2002	-	-	-	6 - 11	Regional MDG report (NER)
Nepal	86	82	84	2006	257	312	569	5 - 9	DHS 2006 (NAR)
Netherlands	99	97	98	2006	8	15	23	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
New Zealand	99	99	99	2006	1	1	2	5 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Nicaragua	90	90	90	2006	44	41	85	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Niger	44	31	38	2006	691	810	1501	7 - 12	DHS 2006 (NAR)
Nigeria	68	59	63	2005	3973	5027	9000	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Niue	-	-	90	2001	-	-	-	5 - 10	Regional MDG report (NER)
Norway	98	98	98	2006	5	4	9	6 - 12	UIS 2008 (NER)
Occupied Palestinian Territory	76	76	76	2006	60	58	118	6 - 9	UIS 2008 (NER)
Oman	73	75	74	2006	47	42	89	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Pakistan	60	51	56	2007	3939	4558	8497	5 - 9	PSLM 2006-07 (NAR)
Palau	98	95	96	2000	0	0	0	6 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Panama	99	98	99	2006	2	3	5	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Papua New Guinea	-	-	-		-	-	-	7 - 12
Paraguay	94	95	94	2005	25	23	48	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Peru	96	97	96	2006	77	48	125	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Philippines	91	93	91	2006	591	447	1038	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Poland	96	96	96	2006	52	43	95	7 - 12	UIS 2008 (NER)
Portugal	98	98	98	2006	6	8	14	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Qatar	93	94	94	2006	2	2	4	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Romania	93	93	93	2006	32	30	62	7 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Russian Federation	91	91	91	2006	242	228	470	7 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Rwanda	84	87	86	2005	113	99	212	7 - 12	DHS 2005 (NAR)
Saint Kitts and Nevis	64	78	71	2007	0	0	0	5 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Saint Lucia	99	97	98	2006	0	0	0	5 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	93	88	90	2005	1	1	2	5 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Samoa	90	91	90	2004	2	1	3	5 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
San Marino	-	-	-		-	-	-	6 - 10
Sao Tome and Principe	97	98	98	2007	0	0	0	7 - 12	UIS 2008 (NER)
Saudi Arabia	-	-	-		-	-	-	6 - 11
Senegal	58	59	58	2005	408	393	801	7 - 12	DHS 2005 (NAR)
Serbia	95	95	95	2007	12	11	23	7 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Seychelles	99	100	99	2004	0	0	0	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Sierra Leone	69	69	69	2005	143	142	285	6 - 11	MICS 2005 (NAR)
Singapore	-	-	-		-	-	-	6 - 11
Slovakia	92	92	92	2005	9	8	17	6 - 9	UIS 2008 (NER)
Slovenia	96	95	95	2006	2	2	4	6 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Solomon Islands	62	62	62	2005	15	14	29	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Somalia	24	20	22	2006	625	655	1280	6 - 12	MICS 2006 (NAR)
South Africa	88	88	88	2004	416	418	834	7 - 13	UIS 2008 (NER)
Spain	100	99	100	2006	1	7	8	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Sri Lanka	98	97	98	2006	19	19	38	5 - 9	Dept. of Census and Statistics 2008 (NER)
Sudan	56	52	54	2006	1363	1435	2798	6 - 11	SHHS 2006 (NAR)
Suriname	95	98	96	2006	1	1	2	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Swaziland	83	86	84	2006	18	15	33	6 - 12	DHS 2006 (NAR)
Sweden	95	95	95	2006	15	16	31	7 - 12	UIS 2008 (NER)
Switzerland	89	89	89	2006	28	28	56	7 - 12	UIS 2008 (NER)
Syrian Arab Republic	97	92	95	2002	28	74	102	6 - 9	UIS 2008 (NER)
Tajikistan	89	88	89	2005	38	39	77	7 - 10	MICS 2005 (NAR)
Tanzania, United Republic of	71	75	73	2004-05	1088	910	1998	7 - 13	DHS 2004-05 (NAR)
Thailand	95	94	94	2006	152	158	310	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia	92	92	92	2005	4	4	8	7 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Timor-Leste	76	74	75	2003	24	24	48	6 - 11	DHS 2003 (NAR)
Togo	86	75	80	2006	77	138	215	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Tonga	98	94	96	2005	0	0	0	5 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Trinidad and Tobago	98	98	98	2006	2	1	3	5 - 11	MICS 2006 (NAR)
Tunisia	96	97	96	2006	23	16	39	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Turkey	93	89	91	2006	288	433	721	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Turkmenistan	99	99	99	2006	1	2	3	7 - 9	MICS 2006 (NAR)
Tuvalu	-	-	100	2002	-	-	-	6 - 11	MDG Report 2006 (NER)
Uganda	83	82	82	2006	572	596	1168	6 - 12	DHS 2006 (NAR)
Ukraine	96	98	97	2005	32	18	50	6 - 9	MICS 2005 (NAR)
United Arab Emirates	88	88	88	2006	17	16	33	6 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
United Kingdom	98	99	98	2006	41	25	66	5 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
United States	91	93	92	2006	1178	892	2070	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Uruguay	100	100	100	2006	0	0	0	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Uzbekistan	100	100	100	2006	1	4	5	7 - 10	MICS 2006 (NAR)
Vanuatu	88	86	87	2007	2	2	4	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Venezuela (Bolivarian Rep. of)	91	91	91	2006	155	142	297	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Viet Nam	-	-	95	2000	-	-	-	6 - 10	UIS 2008 (NER)
Yemen	85	65	75	2006	293	664	957	6 - 11	UIS 2008 (NER)
Zambia	55	58	57	2004	530	490	1020	7 - 13	LCMS 2004 (NAR)
Zimbabwe	87	88	88	2006	154	139	293	6 - 12	UIS 2008 (NER)

Region	Primary NER or NAR, 2000-2007			Children of primary school age out of school (millions), 2007
	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
Sub-Saharan Africa	66	62	64	21.8	23.7	45.5
Eastern and Southern Africa	68	69	68	10.2	9.9	20.1
Western and Central Africa	64	56	60	11.6	13.8	25.4
Middle East and North Africa	88	83	86	2.9	3.8	6.7
South Asia	82	77	80	16.4	18.6	35.0
East Asia and Pacific	97	97	97	2.2	2.5	4.7
Latin America and Caribbean	93	93	93	2.2	2.0	4.2
Central and Eastern Europe, Commonwealth of Independent States	93	92	93	0.8	0.9	1.7
Industrialized countries	95	96	96	1.6	1.3	2.9
Developing countries	84	81	83	46.7	52.2	98.9
Least developed countries	66	63	65	20.6	21.8	42.4
World	86	83	85	47.9	52.8	100.7
* Data refer to the most recent year available during the period specified in the column heading.              Abbreviations:       DHS: Demographic and Health Survey       LCMS: Living Conditions Monitoring Survey       LSS: Living Standard Survey       MICS: Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey       PSLM: Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey       SHHS: Sudan Household Health Survey       UIS: UNESCO Institute for Statistics