Educational attainment rate, completed primary … primary both in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Educational attainment rate, completed primary … primary both was 87.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Sri Lanka, 1971–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Sri Lanka is 87.3%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Sri Lanka peaked at 87.4% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 47.0%, in 1971.
That places Sri Lanka 88th out of 137 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed primary … primary both in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 47.0% | — |
| 2001 | 85.9% | +82.7% |
| 2010 | 81.7% | -4.8% |
| 2011 | 82.9% | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 83.5% | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 84.5% | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 84.6% | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 84.7% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 85.5% | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 85.9% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 86.6% | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 86.7% | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 87.4% | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 87.3% | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 87.3% | +0.0% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 87.3% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 90.3%, 97% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed primary … primary both in Sri Lanka 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | +82.7% | 47.0% | 85.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 47.0% | 47.0% | 47.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 85.9% | 85.9% | 85.9% | 1 |
| 2010s | 84.4% | 81.7% | 86.6% | 9 |
| 2020s | 87.2% | 86.7% | 87.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More education data for Sri Lanka
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 91.41 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 90.86 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 155,543 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 224,799 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 214,300 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.54 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.58 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.89 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Sri Lanka?
- Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Sri Lanka was 87.3% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 87.4% in 2021.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 47.0% in 1971.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- Sri Lanka ranks 88th out of 137 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher, population 25+ years, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release