Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both was 65.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Sri Lanka, 1971–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 65.3% for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 5.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Sri Lanka peaked at 74.0% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 11.6%, in 1971.
Sri Lanka ranks 61st of 142 countries on this measure, 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 … upper both in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 11.6% | — |
| 2001 | 56.1% | +381.7% |
| 2009 | 74.0% | +31.9% |
| 2016 | 61.7% | -16.7% |
| 2017 | 62.5% | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 63.0% | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 62.3% | -1.2% |
| 2020 | 64.8% | +4.0% |
| 2021 | 63.7% | -1.8% |
| 2022 | 64.1% | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 65.2% | +1.8% |
| 2024 | 65.3% | +0.1% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 65.3% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 51.3%, 1.3× the median. (41 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 11.6% | 11.6% | 11.6% | 1 |
| 2000s | 65.1% | 56.1% | 74.0% | 2 |
| 2010s | 62.4% | 61.7% | 63.0% | 4 |
| 2020s | 64.6% | 63.7% | 65.3% | 5 |
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 upper secondary education or in Sri Lanka?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Sri Lanka was 65.3% 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 74.0% in 2009.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.6% in 1971.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Sri Lanka ranks 61st out of 142 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 5.9%. 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, both sexes (%). 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