Children out of school, primary in Zambia
Zambia: Children out of school, primary was 136,539 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Children out of school, primary in Zambia, 1972–2024
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Analysis
In 2024, children out of school, primary in Zambia stood at 136,539. That is the lowest value across all 31 years on record.
The figure is down 49.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, children out of school, primary in Zambia peaked at 653,063 in 2001 and was at its lowest, 136,539, in 2024.
Zambia ranks 48th of 197 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 222,292 | 199,266 | 251,280 | 5 |
| 1980s | 265,619 | 250,895 | 280,407 | 7 |
| 1990s | 519,668 | 424,207 | 612,379 | 4 |
| 2000s | 358,014 | 158,908 | 653,063 | 9 |
| 2010s | 291,053 | 173,742 | 493,015 | 5 |
| 2020s | 136,539 | 136,539 | 136,539 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More education data for Zambia
- Lower secondary school starting age 14 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 41.0% (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 57.0% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 115.6% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 116,859 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 118.3% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, male 112.8% (2024)
- Labor force, total 8.01 million (2025)
- Labor force, female 46.3% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is children out of school, primary in Zambia?
- Children out of school, primary in Zambia was 136,539 in 2024, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest children out of school, primary recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 653,063 in 2001.
- What is the lowest children out of school, primary recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 136,539 in 2024.
- How does Zambia rank for children out of school, primary?
- Zambia ranks 48th out of 197 countries with data for 2024.
- Is children out of school, primary rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 49.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Children out of school, primary. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Children out of school are the number of primary-school-age children not enrolled in primary or secondary school.