Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher was 23.8% in 2019. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Sierra Leone, 2003–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sierra Leone recorded 23.8% for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in 2019. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.9% on the previous year and up 69.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Sierra Leone peaked at 23.8% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 14.0%, in 2004.
That places Sierra Leone 128th out of 135 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 17.6% | — |
| 2004 | 14.0% | -20.1% |
| 2017 | 22.2% | +58.0% |
| 2018 | 23.0% | +3.5% |
| 2019 | 23.8% | +3.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 15.8% | 14.0% | 17.6% | 2 |
| 2010s | 23.0% | 22.2% | 23.8% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More education data for Sierra Leone
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 46,575 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 59.1% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 37.7% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 162.12 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary 162.1% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Sierra Leone?
- Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Sierra Leone was 23.8% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 23.8% in 2019.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.0% in 2004.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- Sierra Leone ranks 128th out of 135 countries with data for 2019.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 69.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sierra Leone 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, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 5 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release