Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or was 64.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Sri Lanka, 1971–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Sri Lanka is 64.4%, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.2% on the previous year and up 7.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Sri Lanka peaked at 75.5% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 12.8%, in 1971.
That places Sri Lanka 60th out of 140 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 12 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 12.8% | — |
| 2001 | 56.6% | +341.1% |
| 2009 | 75.5% | +33.4% |
| 2016 | 60.1% | -20.4% |
| 2017 | 61.2% | +1.8% |
| 2018 | 61.5% | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 61.5% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 63.2% | +2.8% |
| 2021 | 63.4% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 63.2% | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 64.5% | +2.2% |
| 2024 | 64.4% | -0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 12.8% | 12.8% | 12.8% | 1 |
| 2000s | 66.1% | 56.6% | 75.5% | 2 |
| 2010s | 61.1% | 60.1% | 61.5% | 4 |
| 2020s | 63.7% | 63.2% | 64.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 57 Chile 70.3% compare
- 58 Hong Kong, China 68.3% compare
- 59 Brunei Darussalam 67.8% compare
- 61 Timor-Leste 63.7% compare
- 62 Peru 63.6% compare
- 63 Andorra 62.1% compare
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 upper secondary education or in Sri Lanka?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Sri Lanka was 64.4% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 75.5% in 2009.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.8% in 1971.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Sri Lanka ranks 60th out of 140 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.2%. 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 upper secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release