Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education was 5.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Sri Lanka, 1971–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Sri Lanka stood at 5.8%. That is the highest value across all 16 years on record.
The figure is up 2.3% on the previous year and up 57.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Sri Lanka peaked at 5.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 1981.
That places Sri Lanka 110th out of 128 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 1.8% | — |
| 1981 | 0.8% | -56.9% |
| 2010 | 2.6% | +236.0% |
| 2011 | 2.9% | +12.2% |
| 2013 | 3.4% | +18.0% |
| 2014 | 3.7% | +8.5% |
| 2015 | 3.9% | +5.6% |
| 2016 | 4.2% | +7.2% |
| 2017 | 4.3% | +2.5% |
| 2018 | 4.7% | +10.0% |
| 2019 | 4.8% | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 5.3% | +10.9% |
| 2021 | 5.3% | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 5.5% | +2.6% |
| 2023 | 5.7% | +4.4% |
| 2024 | 5.8% | +2.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.8% | 1.8% | 1.8% | 1 |
| 1980s | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 1 |
| 2010s | 3.8% | 2.6% | 4.8% | 9 |
| 2020s | 5.5% | 5.3% | 5.8% | 5 |
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 short-cycle tertiary education in Sri Lanka?
- Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Sri Lanka was 5.8% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 5.8% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 1981.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- Sri Lanka ranks 110th out of 128 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 57.8%. 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 short-cycle tertiary education or higher, population 25+ years, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release