How many adolescents are in school?

Attendance in secondary school is a psychosocial topic as much as a cognitive one. Whether or not an adolescent is in school reflects every aspect of the social context, including national policies, family support, peer pressures, employment prospects, and other economic concerns. Rates of violence, delinquency, poverty, and births to girls younger than 17 increase as school attendance decreases.

Percentage of Adolescents Not Enrolled in Secondary School

North America & Western Europe: girls 7%, boys 8%
Latin America & the Caribbean: girls 22%, boys 23%
Middle East & North Africa: girls 48%, boys 52%
Sub-Saharan Africa: girls 61%, boys 54%
South Asia: girls 50%, boys 47%
East Asia & the Pacific: girls 22%, boys 31%
World (total): girls 37%, boys 36%

Data from UNESCO, February 2018.

Selected Secondary School Graduation Rates — Age 25 and Under

Note: In some nations, some students do not graduate because they go directly into the job market. For example, Germany has an extensive apprenticeship program.

Finland: 96%
Japan: 96%
Korea: 94%
Israel: 92%
Greece: 92%
Canada: 87%
Poland: 84%
United States: 84%
Germany: 79%
United Kingdom: 75%
Turkey: 71%

Data from OECD, 2018.

U.S. High School Graduation Rate, Class of 2017

Since 2007, the dropout rate among foreign-born youth has declined much faster than for native-born youth, from 27 to 10 percent. Males are more likely to drop out of high school than their female counterparts, a shift that has occurred since 1980. Before that, more females dropped out, usually because they were pregnant.

Information from Child Trends Databank, 2018.

A map of the United States shows the average graduation rates by state. The majority of states are in the 80 to 89 percent range. Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Louisiana average 70 to 79 percent. Texas, Iowa, Missouri, West Virginia, Tennessee, and New Jersey are 90 percent and above.

Data from National Center for Education Statistics, May, 2019.