Percentage of teachers in primary education who are qualified in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Percentage of teachers in primary education who are qualified was 87.9% in 2023. ▬ Flat
Latest (2023)
87.9%
Change on year
down 1.2%
World rank
21st
of 100 countries
All-time high
88.9%
in 2022
All-time low
85.9%
in 2015
Years of data
8
2015–2023
Percentage of teachers in primary education who are qualified in Sri Lanka, 2015–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, percentage of teachers in primary education who are qualified in Sri Lanka stood at 87.9%.
The figure is down 1.2% on the previous year and up 2.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of teachers in primary education who are qualified in Sri Lanka peaked at 88.9% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 85.9%, in 2015.
That places Sri Lanka 21st out of 100 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
Percentage of teachers in primary education who are qualified in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 85.9% | — |
| 2016 | 86.3% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 87.0% | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 87.3% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 87.4% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 88.2% | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 88.9% | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 87.9% | -1.2% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 87.9% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 83.4%, 1.1× the median. (33 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 87.9% is above the median for South Asia, which is 58.0%, 1.5× the median. (5 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 86.8% | 85.9% | 87.4% | 5 |
| 2020s | 88.3% | 87.9% | 88.9% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 18 Jamaica 89.2% compare
- 19 Albania 88.8% compare
- 20 Serbia 88.3% compare
- 22 Seychelles 87.8% compare
- 23 United States of America 87.5% compare
- 24 Philippines 87.4% 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 percentage of teachers in primary education who are qualified in Sri Lanka?
- Percentage of teachers in primary education who are qualified in Sri Lanka was 87.9% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of teachers in primary education who are qualified recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 88.9% in 2022.
- What is the lowest percentage of teachers in primary education who are qualified recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 85.9% in 2015.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for percentage of teachers in primary education who are qualified?
- Sri Lanka ranks 21st out of 100 countries with data for 2023.
- Is percentage of teachers in primary education who are qualified rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Percentage of teachers in primary education who are qualified according to national standards and who are female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 8 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release