UIS: Percentage of population age 25+ whose highest level of education is incomplete primary, both sexes by country

The percentage of population (age 25 and over) with incomplete primary as the highest level of educational attainment. This indicator is calculated by dividing the number of persons aged 25 years and above with incomplete primary education by the total population of the same age group and multiplying the result by...

Countries reporting
62
Highest
49.4%
Cambodia
Lowest
0.1%
Belize
Median
9.5%
Years covered
50
1970–2019
Data points
684

What the numbers show

UIS: Percentage of population age 25+ whose highest level of education is incomplete primary, both sexes is currently reported for 62 countries. The highest value is 49.4% in Cambodia; the lowest is 0.1% in Belize.

The median across all reporting countries is 9.5%, and the mean is 12.1%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 527.

Over the past decade 10 countries rose and 51 fell. The largest increase was in Greece (up 281.1%), and the largest decrease in Belize (down 99.6%).

UIS: Percentage of population age 25+ whose highest level of: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Cambodia 49.4% 2015 up 27.8% rising
2 Saint Lucia 47.6% 2013 falling
3 Uganda 42.2% 2012 up 18.5% rising
4 Guatemala 38.2% 2014 up 30.8% rising
5 Kuwait 31.1% 2018 down 16.8% rising
6 Tunisia 29.6% 2016 down 11.6% rising
7 Thailand 28.3% 2018 down 33.1% falling
8 Mauritius 26.1% 2011 down 32.0% falling
9 Honduras 25.8% 2018 down 21.7% falling
10 El Salvador 24.9% 2017 down 2.9% falling
11 Dominican Republic 21.7% 2016 down 39.3% falling
12 Sweden 21.5% 1995 down 36.8% falling
13 Paraguay 21.2% 2018 down 25.6% falling
14 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 18.1% 2015 down 54.1% rising
15 Zimbabwe 17.3% 2017 down 20.1% volatile
16 Indonesia 16.1% 2018 down 8.8% falling
17 Colombia 14.8% 2018 down 25.2% falling
18 Costa Rica 14.0% 2018 down 11.3% volatile
19 Philippines 14.0% 2017 down 12.1% falling
20 Peru 13.1% 2018 down 28.3% falling
21 Brazil 12.8% 2018 up 7.0% volatile
22 Bermuda 12.5% 2016 down 43.4% volatile
23 Singapore 12.1% 2018 down 41.8% falling
24 Syrian Arab Republic 11.6% 2009 down 72.4% volatile
25 Ecuador 11.2% 2017 down 33.5% volatile
26 Qatar 11.0% 2017 down 37.2% rising
27 Mexico 10.6% 2018 down 38.4% falling
28 Bangladesh 10.2% 2019 down 4.7% falling
29 Bahrain 10.0% 2018 down 60.6% rising
30 Panama 9.9% 2010 down 31.4% volatile
31 Chile 9.8% 2017 up 43.2% volatile
32 South Africa 9.2% 2017 down 41.3% falling
33 Mali 9.2% 2018 down 25.8% rising
34 Portugal 8.5% 2018 down 38.4% volatile
35 Uruguay 8.0% 2018 down 37.6% volatile
36 Macau, China 6.9% 2016 down 36.0% volatile
37 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 6.8% 2016 down 62.9% volatile
38 Argentina 6.5% 2018 down 27.8% volatile
39 Spain 6.4% 2018 down 36.1% volatile
40 Puerto Rico 5.8% 2017 down 27.8% volatile
41 Greece 5.7% 2016 up 281.1% volatile
42 Türkiye 5.6% 2017 down 11.0% volatile
43 Bosnia and Herzegovina 5.2% 2018 down 69.7% falling
44 United Arab Emirates 4.8% 2018 down 66.7% rising
45 Belgium 4.1% 2017 down 45.1% flat
46 Canada 3.9% 1991 down 72.3% volatile
47 Cyprus 3.8% 2018 down 40.6% falling
48 Pakistan 3.7% 2017 up 22.9% volatile
49 France 2.4% 2017 up 190.4% rising
50 Israel 2.0% 2015 up 3.6% volatile
51 Palestine, State of 1.6% 2018 down 39.6% falling
52 Republic of Korea 1.0% 2015 up 38.4% volatile
53 Lithuania 0.9% 2017 down 58.9% volatile
54 Cayman Islands 0.7% 2015 down 35.0% volatile
55 Netherlands 0.7% 2018 down 55.4% volatile
56 Serbia 0.7% 2017 down 41.5% volatile
57 Poland 0.7% 2016 down 42.4% volatile
58 United States of America 0.6% 2018 down 32.4% volatile
59 Hungary 0.4% 2016 down 6.9% volatile
60 Latvia 0.3% 2015 down 46.3% volatile
61 Slovenia 0.2% 2017 down 78.5% volatile
62 Belize 0.1% 2010 down 99.6% volatile

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UIS: Percentage of population age 25+ whose highest level of by country. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 25 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/uis-percentage-of-population-age-25-whose-highest-level-of-education-is-incomplete/

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About this data

Indicator
UIS: Percentage of population age 25+ whose highest level of education is incomplete primary, both sexes
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
65 places, 684 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

The percentage of population (age 25 and over) with incomplete primary as the highest level of educational attainment. This indicator is calculated by dividing the number of persons aged 25 years and above with incomplete primary education by the total population of the same age group and multiplying the result by 100. The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) educational attainment dataset shows the educational composition of the population aged 25 years and above and hence the stock and quality of human capital within a country. The dataset also reflects the structure and performance of the education system and its accumulated impact on human capital formation. For more information, visit the UNESCO Institute for Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/