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

Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) in World was 90.14 as of 2020. Its highest value over the past 50 years was 90.14 in 2020, while its lowest value was 74.30 in 1971.

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 74.33
1971 74.30
1972 74.44
1973 74.91
1974 75.05
1975 75.64
1976 76.16
1977 76.87
1978 77.37
1979 77.76
1980 78.74
1981 79.41
1982 79.77
1983 80.26
1984 81.24
1985 81.62
1986 81.76
1987 81.58
1988 81.52
1989 81.09
1990 81.34
1991 81.58
1992 81.20
1993 81.93
1994 82.44
1995 81.84
1996 80.88
1997 80.47
1998 80.73
1999 80.96
2000 81.95
2001 82.76
2002 83.43
2003 84.16
2004 84.69
2005 85.47
2006 85.94
2007 86.91
2008 88.46
2009 89.15
2010 88.92
2011 88.50
2012 89.24
2013 89.30
2014 89.05
2015 88.72
2016 88.90
2017 89.16
2018 89.41
2019 89.63
2020 90.14

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