Afghanistan vs Pakistan: Share of children who have completed primary school
Afghanistan
55.4%
in 2025
Pakistan
59.5%
in 2025
Afghanistan rank
153rd
Pakistan rank
151st
Share of children who have completed primary school over time
- Afghanistan
- Pakistan
How they compare
Pakistan currently reports 59.5% against 55.4% in Afghanistan, a difference of 4.1%.
That makes Pakistan's figure about 1.1 times Afghanistan's.
Across all 45 years both countries report, Pakistan has been ahead every year.
Afghanistan ranks 153rd and Pakistan ranks 151st of 165 countries.
Pakistan has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Afghanistan | Pakistan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 10.9% | 27.7% | 16.9% | Pakistan |
| 1990s | 15.6% | 35.6% | 20.0% | Pakistan |
| 2000s | 26.0% | 43.5% | 17.5% | Pakistan |
| 2010s | 46.0% | 51.2% | 5.3% | Pakistan |
| 2020s | 52.9% | 57.4% | 4.5% | Pakistan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of children who have completed primary school, Afghanistan or Pakistan?
- Pakistan, at 59.5% against 55.4% in Afghanistan as of 2025.
- What is the difference in share of children who have completed primary school between Afghanistan and Pakistan?
- 4.1%, with Pakistan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Afghanistan and Pakistan?
- 45 years are reported by both, from 1981 to 2025.
- How do Afghanistan and Pakistan rank globally for share of children who have completed primary school?
- Afghanistan ranks 153rd and Pakistan ranks 151st of 165 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of children who have completed primary school. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of children who are three to five years older than the official age for the last grade of primary education who have successfully completed it. This broader age band is used to include children who started school late or had to resit particular years.