Persistence to last grade of primary, total in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Persistence to last grade of primary, total was 99.3% in 2020. ▬ Flat

Latest (2020)
99.3%
Change on year
down 0.5%
World rank
25th
of 179 countries
All-time high
99.8%
in 2017
All-time low
97.6%
in 2015
Years of data
6
2015–2020

Persistence to last grade of primary, total in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 2015–2020

0204060801002015201720202015: 97.6 % of cohort2016: 99.8 % of cohort2017: 99.8 % of cohort2018: 99.8 % of cohort2019: 99.8 % of cohort2020: 99.3 % of cohort

Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % of cohort.

Analysis

In 2020, persistence to last grade of primary, total in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland stood at 99.3%.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.5% on the previous year and up 1.7% over ten years.

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 25th of 179 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

Persistence to last grade of primary, total in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, year by year

Annual values for Persistence to last grade of primary, total (% of cohort) in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 2015 to 2020.
Year % of cohort Change
2015 97.6%
2016 99.8% +2.2%
2017 99.8% +0.1%
2018 99.8% -0.0%
2019 99.8% +0.0%
2020 99.3% -0.5%

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland compared with similar countries

  • United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland's 99.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 98.0%, 1.0× the median. (59 countries reporting)
  • United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland's 99.3% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 98.6%, 1.0× the median. (49 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 99.4% 97.6% 99.8% 5
2020s 99.3% 99.3% 99.3% 1

Countries ranked near United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

  1. 22 Azerbaijan 99.3% compare
  2. 23 Macau, China 99.3% compare
  3. 24 Portugal 99.3% compare
  4. 26 Finland 99.3% compare
  5. 27 Russian Federation 99.1%
  6. 28 Türkiye 99.0% compare

See the full ranking of 224 places →

More education data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

All data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is persistence to last grade of primary, total in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
Persistence to last grade of primary, total in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was 99.3% in 2020, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
What is the highest persistence to last grade of primary, total recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 99.8% in 2017.
What is the lowest persistence to last grade of primary, total recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 97.6% in 2015.
How does United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland rank for persistence to last grade of primary, total?
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 25th out of 179 countries with data for 2020.
Is persistence to last grade of primary, total rising or falling in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 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 — 6 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Persistence to last grade of primary, total in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Statizoid, drawing on Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Retrieved 15 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/persistence-to-last-grade-of-primary-total-percent-of-cohort/united-kingdom/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/persistence-to-last-grade-of-primary-total-percent-of-cohort/united-kingdom/">Persistence to last grade of primary, total in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Persistence to last grade of primary, total (% of cohort)
Unit
% of cohort
Source
Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
224 places, 6,364 data points, 1970–2023
Last refreshed

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.