OECD members - Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group)

Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) in OECD members was 99.15 as of 2020. Its highest value over the past 50 years was 100.64 in 2012, while its lowest value was 92.80 in 1972.

Definition: Primary completion rate, or gross intake ratio to the last grade of primary education, is the number of new entrants (enrollments minus repeaters) in the last grade of primary education, regardless of age, divided by the population at the entrance age for the last grade of primary education. Data limitations preclude adjusting for students who drop out during the final year of primary education.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (http://uis.unesco.org/)

See also:

Year Value
1970 92.92
1971 93.05
1972 92.80
1973 93.14
1974 93.16
1975 93.70
1976 94.06
1977 94.60
1978 94.12
1979 93.63
1980 95.23
1981 95.41
1982 95.08
1983 95.41
1984 96.47
1985 96.41
1986 97.14
1987 96.80
1988 97.29
1989 95.81
1990 96.06
1991 95.92
1992 97.50
1993 97.15
1994 96.94
1995 97.18
1996 97.41
1997 97.48
1998 97.87
1999 98.14
2000 98.44
2001 98.76
2002 98.61
2003 98.95
2004 99.19
2005 99.21
2006 99.23
2007 99.75
2008 99.76
2009 99.89
2010 99.93
2011 100.08
2012 100.64
2013 100.02
2014 99.54
2015 99.27
2016 98.79
2017 98.72
2018 98.53
2019 99.14
2020 99.15

Development Relevance: The World Bank and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics jointly developed the primary completion rate indicator. Increasingly used as a core indicator of an education system's performance, it reflects an education system's coverage and the educational attainment of students.

Limitations and Exceptions: Data limitations preclude adjusting for students who drop out during the final year of primary education. Thus this rate is a proxy that should be taken as an upper estimate of the actual primary completion rate. There are many reasons why the primary completion rate can exceed 100 percent. The numerator may include late entrants and overage children who have repeated one or more grades of primary education as well as children who entered school early, while the denominator is the number of children at the entrance age for the last grade of primary education.

Other Notes: Data retrieved via API in March 2019. For detailed information on the observation level (e.g. National Estimation, UIS Estimation, or Category not applicable), please visit UIS.Stat (http://data.uis.unesco.org/).

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Primary completion rate is calculated by dividing the number of new entrants (enrollment minus repeaters) in the last grade of primary education, regardless of age, by the population at the entrance age for the last grade of primary education and multiplying by 100. Data on education are collected by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics from official responses to its annual education survey. All the data are mapped to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) to ensure the comparability of education programs at the international level. The current version was formally adopted by UNESCO Member States in 2011. Population data are drawn from the United Nations Population Division. Using a single source for population data standardizes definitions, estimations, and interpolation methods, ensuring a consistent methodology across countries and minimizing potential enumeration problems in national censuses. The reference years reflect the school year for which the data are presented. In some countries the school year spans two calendar years (for example, from September 2010 to June 2011); in these cases the reference year refers to the year in which the school year ended (2011 in the example).

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Education Indicators

Sub-Topic: Outcomes