Japan vs United Kingdom: Share of children in primary school age who are in school
Japan
99.9%
in 2023
United Kingdom
99.9%
in 2023
Japan rank
6th
United Kingdom rank
7th
Share of children in primary school age who are in school over time
- Japan
- United Kingdom
How they compare
Japan currently reports 99.9% against 99.9% in United Kingdom, a difference of 0.0%.
The two have swapped places 11 times across 44 shared years of data; in 1820 it was United Kingdom ahead.
Japan ranks 6th and United Kingdom ranks 7th of 209 countries.
Across the 19 decades both report, Japan averaged higher in 8 and United Kingdom in 9.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | United Kingdom | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 8.0% | 14.1% | 6.0% | United Kingdom |
| 1830s | 11.9% | 17.2% | 5.3% | United Kingdom |
| 1840s | 17.4% | 21.0% | 3.6% | United Kingdom |
| 1850s | 24.6% | 25.2% | 0.6% | United Kingdom |
| 1860s | 33.7% | 26.6% | 7.1% | Japan |
| 1870s | 50.4% | 44.4% | 6.0% | Japan |
| 1880s | 82.0% | 77.2% | 4.9% | Japan |
| 1890s | 93.4% | 94.3% | 0.9% | United Kingdom |
| 1900s | 88.4% | 98.9% | 10.5% | United Kingdom |
| 1910s | 96.6% | 100.0% | 3.4% | United Kingdom |
| 1920s | 97.2% | 100.0% | 2.8% | United Kingdom |
| 1930s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1940s | 100.0% | 88.6% | 11.4% | Japan |
| 1950s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1960s | 100.0% | 86.7% | 13.3% | Japan |
| 1970s | 99.0% | 98.0% | 1.0% | Japan |
| 1980s | 100.0% | 96.0% | 4.0% | Japan |
| 2010s | 99.7% | 98.9% | 0.8% | Japan |
| 2020s | 99.9% | 99.9% | 0.0% | United Kingdom |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of children in primary school age who are in school, Japan or United Kingdom?
- Japan, at 99.9% against 99.9% in United Kingdom as of 2023.
- What is the difference in share of children in primary school age who are in school between Japan and United Kingdom?
- 0.0%, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and United Kingdom?
- 44 years are reported by both, from 1820 to 2023.
- How do Japan and United Kingdom rank globally for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- Japan ranks 6th and United Kingdom ranks 7th of 209 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of children in primary school age who are in school. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.