Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Bhutan
Bhutan: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 89.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Bhutan, 1978–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Bhutan recorded 89.5% for share of children in primary school age who are in school in 2024.
That represents a change of up 1.4% on the previous year and down 1.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Bhutan peaked at 94.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 22.0%, in 1978.
That places Bhutan 157th out of 209 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Bhutan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 22.0% | — |
| 1979 | 24.7% | +12.1% |
| 1998 | 55.8% | +126.1% |
| 1999 | 56.7% | +1.6% |
| 2000 | 58.9% | +3.9% |
| 2001 | 61.2% | +3.8% |
| 2005 | 71.3% | +16.6% |
| 2006 | 76.3% | +7.0% |
| 2008 | 83.2% | +9.1% |
| 2009 | 88.3% | +6.1% |
| 2010 | 90.6% | +2.6% |
| 2011 | 91.1% | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 92.4% | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 90.9% | -1.7% |
| 2015 | 89.2% | -1.9% |
| 2016 | 88.5% | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 88.3% | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 90.6% | +2.6% |
| 2020 | 94.5% | +4.4% |
| 2021 | 83.9% | -11.3% |
| 2022 | 90.0% | +7.2% |
| 2023 | 88.2% | -1.9% |
| 2024 | 89.5% | +1.4% |
Bhutan compared with similar countries
- Bhutan's 89.5% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 93.7%, 95% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Bhutan's 89.5% is below the median for South Asia, which is 96.6%, 93% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Bhutan changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | +126.1% | 24.7% | 55.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 23.3% | 22.0% | 24.7% | 2 |
| 1990s | 56.2% | 55.8% | 56.7% | 2 |
| 2000s | 73.2% | 58.9% | 88.3% | 6 |
| 2010s | 90.2% | 88.3% | 92.4% | 8 |
| 2020s | 89.2% | 83.9% | 94.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Bhutan
More education data for Bhutan
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 6,995 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 9,961 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 6,905 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 6,735 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 67,821 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 91,759 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 3.26 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1159 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Bhutan?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Bhutan was 89.5% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Bhutan?
- The highest recorded value was 94.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Bhutan?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.0% in 1978.
- How does Bhutan rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- Bhutan ranks 157th out of 209 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Bhutan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bhutan data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children in primary school age who are in school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.