Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Cambodia
Cambodia: Share of children who are not in pre-primary school was 27.8% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Cambodia, 2000–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Cambodia is 27.8%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 29.3% on the previous year and down 52.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Cambodia peaked at 88.2% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 27.8%, in 2020.
Cambodia ranks 54th of 179 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 18 years of available data.
Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Cambodia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 88.2% | — |
| 2003 | 84.2% | -4.5% |
| 2004 | 81.6% | -3.1% |
| 2005 | 79.9% | -2.1% |
| 2006 | 74.5% | -6.8% |
| 2007 | 75.1% | +0.8% |
| 2008 | 72.8% | -3.0% |
| 2010 | 64.8% | -11.0% |
| 2012 | 59.6% | -8.1% |
| 2015 | 58.9% | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 56.3% | -4.4% |
| 2017 | 53.4% | -5.1% |
| 2018 | 46.5% | -12.9% |
| 2020 | 27.8% | -40.2% |
| 2021 | 43.7% | +57.1% |
| 2022 | 54.0% | +23.5% |
| 2023 | 39.4% | -27.1% |
| 2024 | 27.8% | -29.3% |
Cambodia compared with similar countries
- Cambodia's 27.8% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 34.1%, 82% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
- Cambodia's 27.8% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 13.0%, 2.1× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Cambodia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | +57.1% | 27.8% | 43.7% |
| 2020 | -40.2% | 46.5% | 27.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 79.5% | 72.8% | 88.2% | 7 |
| 2010s | 56.6% | 46.5% | 64.8% | 6 |
| 2020s | 38.5% | 27.8% | 54.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Cambodia
- 51 Palestine 31.4% compare
- 52 Jordan 30.6% compare
- 53 Bahrain 29.8% compare
- 55 Montserrat 27.1% compare
- 56 Kazakhstan 25.9% compare
- 57 Kyrgyzstan 25.1% compare
More education data for Cambodia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 107,312 (2021)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 124,310 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 199,569 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 201,390 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.17 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.27 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 3.07 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1285 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Cambodia?
- Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Cambodia was 27.8% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children who are not in pre-primary school recorded in Cambodia?
- The highest recorded value was 88.2% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of children who are not in pre-primary school recorded in Cambodia?
- The lowest recorded value was 27.8% in 2020.
- How does Cambodia rank for share of children who are not in pre-primary school?
- Cambodia ranks 54th out of 179 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children who are not in pre-primary school rising or falling in Cambodia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 52.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Cambodia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children who are not in pre-primary school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Children one year before the official primary entry age (typically age 5) not enrolled in pre-primary education, expressed as a percentage of all children in that age group.