Share of primary school teachers who are women in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Share of primary school teachers who are women was 87.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of primary school teachers who are women in Sri Lanka, 1978–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 87.9% for share of primary school teachers who are women in 2023.
The figure is down 1.2% on the previous year and up 1.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of primary school teachers who are women in Sri Lanka peaked at 95.6% in 1996 and was at its lowest, 60.0%, in 1978.
Sri Lanka ranks 48th of 212 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 60.0% | 60.0% | 60.0% | 1 |
| 1990s | 84.4% | 80.3% | 95.6% | 5 |
| 2000s | 81.7% | 78.5% | 85.0% | 8 |
| 2010s | 86.6% | 85.0% | 87.9% | 8 |
| 2020s | 88.6% | 87.9% | 89.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 45 Serbia 88.3% compare
- 46 Philippines 88.3% compare
- 47 Turks and Caicos Islands 87.9% compare
- 49 Seychelles 87.6% compare
- 50 Cook Islands 87.5% compare
- 51 United States 87.5% compare
More education data for Sri Lanka
- Duration of pre-primary education 2 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (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)
- School enrollment, primary 91.5% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 73,333 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.95 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 92.1% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of primary school teachers who are women in Sri Lanka?
- Share of primary school teachers who are women in Sri Lanka was 87.9% in 2023, 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 95.6% in 1996.
- What is the lowest share of primary school teachers who are women recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 60.0% in 1978.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for share of primary school teachers who are women?
- Sri Lanka ranks 48th out of 212 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of primary school teachers who are women rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.8%. 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 (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.