United States - School enrollment, primary (% gross)

The value for School enrollment, primary (% gross) in United States was 100.98 as of 2019. As the graph below shows, over the past 48 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 106.03 in 1990 and a minimum value of 88.42 in 1972.

Definition: Gross enrollment ratio is the ratio of total enrollment, regardless of age, to the population of the age group that officially corresponds to the level of education shown. Primary education provides children with basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills along with an elementary understanding of such subjects as history, geography, natural science, social science, art, and music.

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

See also:

Year Value
1971 88.86
1972 88.42
1973 90.71
1974 89.82
1975 89.62
1976 90.44
1977 90.66
1978 91.07
1979 90.62
1980 98.91
1981 98.63
1982 100.48
1983 99.03
1984 97.89
1985 98.23
1986 99.90
1987 101.17
1990 106.03
1991 105.33
1993 103.90
1994 103.12
1995 104.11
1996 103.56
1998 102.56
1999 101.93
2005 101.87
2013 99.46
2014 99.67
2015 100.30
2016 101.36
2017 101.82
2018 101.26
2019 100.98

Development Relevance: Gross enrollment ratios indicate the capacity of each level of the education system, but a high ratio may reflect a substantial number of overage children enrolled in each grade because of repetition or late entry rather than a successful education system. The net enrollment rate excludes overage and underage students and more accurately captures the system's coverage and internal efficiency. Differences between the gross enrollment ratio and the net enrollment rate show the incidence of overage and underage enrollments.

Limitations and Exceptions: Enrollment indicators are based on annual school surveys, but do not necessarily reflect actual attendance or dropout rates during the year. Also, the length of education differs across countries and can influence enrollment rates, although the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) tries to minimize the difference. For example, a shorter duration for primary education tends to increase the rate; a longer one to decrease it (in part because older children are more at risk of dropping out). Moreover, age at enrollment may be inaccurately estimated or misstated, especially in communities where registration of births is not strictly enforced.

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: Gross enrollment ratio for primary school is calculated by dividing the number of students enrolled in primary education regardless of age by the population of the age group which officially corresponds to 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: Participation