Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Tonga

Tonga: Share of children who are not in pre-primary school was 22.3% in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
22.3%
Change on year
down 3.5%
World rank
67th
of 179 countries
All-time high
87.5%
in 1999
All-time low
14.9%
in 2022
Years of data
7
1998–2024

Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Tonga, 1998–2024

204060801998201120241998: 69.1 %1999: 87.5 %2020: 78.6 %2021: 18.1 %2022: 14.9 %2023: 23.1 %2024: 22.3 %

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 Tonga is 22.3%, measured in 2024.

That represents a change of down 3.5% on the previous year and down 71.6% over five years.

Over the whole period, share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Tonga peaked at 87.5% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 14.9%, in 2022.

Tonga ranks 67th of 179 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Tonga, year by year

Annual values for Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Tonga, 1998 to 2024.
Year % Change
1998 69.1%
1999 87.5% +26.6%
2020 78.6% -10.2%
2021 18.1% -77.0%
2022 14.9% -17.4%
2023 23.1% +54.5%
2024 22.3% -3.5%

Tonga compared with similar countries

  • Tonga's 22.3% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 14.6%, 1.5× the median. (53 countries reporting)
  • Tonga's 22.3% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 13.0%, 1.7× the median. (28 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 78.3% 69.1% 87.5% 2
2020s 31.4% 14.9% 78.6% 5

Countries ranked near Tonga

  1. 64 Ukraine 23.3% compare
  2. 65 Panama 23.3% compare
  3. 66 Brunei 22.7% compare
  4. 68 Guyana 22.0% compare
  5. 69 Barbados 21.8% compare
  6. 70 South Africa 21.2% compare

See the full ranking of 179 places →

More education data for Tonga

All data for Tonga →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Tonga?
Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Tonga was 22.3% 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 Tonga?
The highest recorded value was 87.5% in 1999.
What is the lowest share of children who are not in pre-primary school recorded in Tonga?
The lowest recorded value was 14.9% in 2022.
How does Tonga rank for share of children who are not in pre-primary school?
Tonga ranks 67th out of 179 countries with data for 2024.
Where does this Tonga 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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Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Tonga. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/children-not-in-school/tonga/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of children who are not in pre-primary school
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
179 places, 2,923 data points, 1998–2025
Last refreshed

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.