Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education was 11 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
11
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
47th
of 214 countries
All-time high
11
in 2016
All-time low
9
in 1998
Years of data
28
1998–2025
Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Sri Lanka, 1998–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 11 for number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in 2025. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
That represents a change of up 22.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Sri Lanka peaked at 11 in 2016 and was at its lowest, 9, in 1998.
Sri Lanka ranks 47th of 214 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 9 | — |
| 1999 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 11 | +22.2% |
| 2017 | 11 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 11 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 11 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 11 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 11 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 11 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 11 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 11 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 11 | +0.0% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 11 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 9.5, 1.2× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 11 is above the median for South Asia, which is 8, 1.4× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 2 |
| 2000s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.8 | 9 | 11 | 10 |
| 2020s | 11 | 11 | 11 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 47 Aruba 11 compare
- 47 Antigua and Barbuda 11 compare
- 47 Australia 11 compare
- 47 Belarus 11 compare
- 47 Barbados 11 compare
- 47 Colombia 11 compare
- 47 Costa Rica 11 compare
- 47 Cayman Islands 11 compare
- 47 Finland 11 compare
- 47 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 11 compare
- 47 Honduras 11 compare
- 47 Monaco 11 compare
- 47 Malta 11 compare
- 47 Niue 11 compare
- 47 Peru 11 compare
- 47 Korea, Democratic People's Republic of 11 compare
- 47 Russian Federation 11 compare
- 47 Senegal 11 compare
- 47 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 11 compare
- 47 Seychelles 11 compare
- 47 Turks and Caicos Islands 11 compare
- 47 Tokelau 11 compare
- 47 Ukraine 11 compare
- 47 Uzbekistan 11 compare
- 47 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 11 compare
More education data for Sri Lanka
- 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)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0715 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Sri Lanka?
- Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Sri Lanka was 11 in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 11 in 2016.
- What is the lowest number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 9 in 1998.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education?
- Sri Lanka ranks 47th out of 214 countries with data for 2025.
- Is number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 22.2%. 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 Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education guaranteed in legal frameworks. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release