Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Share of children who are not in pre-primary school was 34.1% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Sri Lanka, 2013–2023
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 Sri Lanka is 34.1%, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 10 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.4% on the previous year and down 33.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Sri Lanka peaked at 51.7% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 34.1%, in 2023.
Sri Lanka ranks 48th of 179 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 47.1% | 39.5% | 51.7% | 6 |
| 2020s | 38.9% | 34.1% | 48.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More education data for Sri Lanka
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Duration of pre-primary education 2 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 5 years (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 10 years (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 21.7% (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 65.8% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 91.5% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 73,333 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.95 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 92.1% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Sri Lanka?
- Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Sri Lanka was 34.1% in 2023, 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 51.7% in 2018.
- What is the lowest share of children who are not in pre-primary school recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 34.1% in 2023.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for share of children who are not in pre-primary school?
- Sri Lanka ranks 48th out of 179 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of children who are not in pre-primary school rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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.