Persistence to last grade of primary, total in Latin America & Caribbean
Latin America & Caribbean: Persistence to last grade of primary, total was 86.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Persistence to last grade of primary, total in Latin America & Caribbean, 1970–2023
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % of cohort.
Analysis
Latin America & Caribbean recorded 86.5% for persistence to last grade of primary, total in 2023.
The figure is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, persistence to last grade of primary, total in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 86.9% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 47.3%, in 1974.
Latin America & Caribbean ranks 15th of 45 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 54 years of available data.
Persistence to last grade of primary, total in Latin America & Caribbean, year by year
| Year | % of cohort | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 48.7% | — |
| 1971 | 48.0% | -1.5% |
| 1972 | 48.5% | +1.0% |
| 1973 | 47.6% | -1.9% |
| 1974 | 47.3% | -0.5% |
| 1975 | 50.2% | +6.1% |
| 1976 | 55.9% | +11.4% |
| 1977 | 55.2% | -1.3% |
| 1978 | 55.0% | -0.3% |
| 1979 | 54.6% | -0.8% |
| 1980 | 53.5% | -2.0% |
| 1981 | 56.9% | +6.3% |
| 1982 | 60.3% | +5.9% |
| 1983 | 61.2% | +1.5% |
| 1984 | 57.3% | -6.4% |
| 1985 | 61.6% | +7.6% |
| 1986 | 61.8% | +0.2% |
| 1987 | 61.8% | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 63.7% | +3.0% |
| 1989 | 64.6% | +1.5% |
| 1990 | 67.5% | +4.5% |
| 1991 | 70.0% | +3.8% |
| 1992 | 68.6% | -2.1% |
| 1993 | 71.0% | +3.6% |
| 1994 | 71.5% | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 74.2% | +3.8% |
| 1996 | 74.9% | +1.0% |
| 1997 | 76.0% | +1.4% |
| 1998 | 76.8% | +1.1% |
| 1999 | 78.1% | +1.7% |
| 2000 | 77.6% | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 80.4% | +3.6% |
| 2002 | 79.8% | -0.8% |
| 2003 | 80.4% | +0.8% |
| 2004 | 80.7% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 81.4% | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 82.6% | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 82.0% | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 84.0% | +2.5% |
| 2009 | 84.0% | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 84.0% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 83.3% | -0.8% |
| 2012 | 83.0% | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 84.5% | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 85.3% | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 84.6% | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 86.0% | +1.6% |
| 2017 | 85.9% | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 86.3% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 86.2% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 86.9% | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 86.6% | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 86.2% | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 86.5% | +0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 51.1% | 47.3% | 55.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 60.3% | 53.5% | 64.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 72.9% | 67.5% | 78.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 81.3% | 77.6% | 84.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 84.9% | 83.0% | 86.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 86.5% | 86.2% | 86.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean
More education data for Latin America & Caribbean
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 3.34 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 63.30 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 61.44 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.1923 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0928 units per person (2024)
- Population ages 15-64 67.7% (2025)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 22.1% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is persistence to last grade of primary, total in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Persistence to last grade of primary, total in Latin America & Caribbean was 86.5% in 2023, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest persistence to last grade of primary, total recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The highest recorded value was 86.9% in 2020.
- What is the lowest persistence to last grade of primary, total recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The lowest recorded value was 47.3% in 1974.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for persistence to last grade of primary, total?
- Latin America & Caribbean ranks 15th out of 45 groups with data for 2023.
- Is persistence to last grade of primary, total rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Persistence to last grade of primary, total (% of cohort). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 54 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Persistence to last grade of primary is the percentage of children enrolled in the first grade of primary school who eventually reach the last grade of primary education. The estimate is based on the reconstructed cohort method.