Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Nepal
Nepal: Share of children who are not in pre-primary school was 20.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Nepal, 2011–2024
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 Nepal is 20.0%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 0.6% on the previous year and up 59.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Nepal peaked at 32.6% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 12.5%, in 2014.
Nepal ranks 72nd of 179 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Nepal, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 17.7% | — |
| 2013 | 17.9% | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 12.5% | -30.2% |
| 2015 | 16.6% | +32.8% |
| 2016 | 15.3% | -7.7% |
| 2017 | 16.5% | +7.9% |
| 2020 | 15.7% | -5.1% |
| 2021 | 25.1% | +59.8% |
| 2022 | 32.6% | +29.7% |
| 2023 | 20.1% | -38.3% |
| 2024 | 20.0% | -0.6% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 20.0% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 34.1%, 59% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
- Nepal's 20.0% is above the median for South Asia, which is 20.0%, 1.0× the median. (5 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 16.1% | 12.5% | 17.9% | 6 |
| 2020s | 22.7% | 15.7% | 32.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More education data for Nepal
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 124,257 (2025)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 263,796 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 752,326 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 609,324 (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.67 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.57 million (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.31 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1204 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Nepal?
- Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Nepal was 20.0% 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 Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 32.6% in 2022.
- What is the lowest share of children who are not in pre-primary school recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.5% in 2014.
- How does Nepal rank for share of children who are not in pre-primary school?
- Nepal ranks 72nd out of 179 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children who are not in pre-primary school rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 59.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nepal 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.
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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.