Share of primary school teachers who are women in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Share of primary school teachers who are women was 58.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of primary school teachers who are women in Saudi Arabia, 1979–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Saudi Arabia recorded 58.8% for share of primary school teachers who are women in 2024. That is the highest value across all 19 years on record.
That represents a change of up 10.2% on the previous year and up 13.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of primary school teachers who are women in Saudi Arabia peaked at 58.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 34.7%, in 1979.
That places Saudi Arabia 165th out of 212 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Share of primary school teachers who are women in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 34.7% | — |
| 2005 | 52.2% | +50.4% |
| 2007 | 52.5% | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 50.9% | -3.0% |
| 2009 | 49.7% | -2.4% |
| 2010 | 50.2% | +1.1% |
| 2011 | 50.0% | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 50.6% | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 52.1% | +3.0% |
| 2014 | 51.6% | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 52.5% | +1.8% |
| 2016 | 53.0% | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 53.0% | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 52.5% | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 52.3% | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 52.8% | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 52.8% | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 53.4% | +1.1% |
| 2024 | 58.8% | +10.2% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 58.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 84.3%, 70% of the median. (75 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 58.8% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 75.7%, 78% of the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of primary school teachers who are women in Saudi Arabia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | +50.4% | 34.7% | 52.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 34.7% | 34.7% | 34.7% | 1 |
| 2000s | 51.3% | 49.7% | 52.5% | 4 |
| 2010s | 51.8% | 50.0% | 53.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 54.4% | 52.8% | 58.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More education data for Saudi Arabia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 242,375 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 26,900 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 215,559 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 214,840 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.36 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.45 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.53 % change on previous year (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0976 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of primary school teachers who are women in Saudi Arabia?
- Share of primary school teachers who are women in Saudi Arabia was 58.8% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of primary school teachers who are women recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 58.8% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of primary school teachers who are women recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 34.7% in 1979.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for share of primary school teachers who are women?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 165th out of 212 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of primary school teachers who are women rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of primary school teachers who are women. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Percentage of female teachers among all teachers at the primary education level during a given school year.