Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher was 86.1% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Sri Lanka, 1971–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Sri Lanka stood at 86.1%.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and up 5.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Sri Lanka peaked at 86.3% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 42.0%, in 1971.
Sri Lanka ranks 56th of 101 countries on this measure, 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 education or higher in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 42.0% | — |
| 2001 | 84.9% | +102.0% |
| 2010 | 80.7% | -5.0% |
| 2011 | 81.8% | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 81.9% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 83.2% | +1.6% |
| 2015 | 83.3% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 83.7% | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 84.2% | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 84.7% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 85.3% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 85.4% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 86.3% | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 86.2% | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 86.1% | -0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 42.0% | 42.0% | 42.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 84.9% | 84.9% | 84.9% | 1 |
| 2010s | 83.2% | 80.7% | 85.3% | 9 |
| 2020s | 86.0% | 85.4% | 86.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More education data for Sri Lanka
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 73,333 (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 2 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 65.8% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 21.7% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 10 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 5 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 91.45 (2023)
- School enrollment, primary 91.5% (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 86.1% 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 86.3% in 2021.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 42.0% in 1971.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- Sri Lanka ranks 56th out of 101 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 5.2%. 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, rural, 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