Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Botswana
Botswana: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 99.5% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Botswana, 1970–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Botswana recorded 99.5% for share of children in primary school age who are in school in 2022. That is the highest value across all 42 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 9.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Botswana peaked at 99.5% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 47.4%, in 1971.
Botswana ranks 30th of 209 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 42 years of available data.
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Botswana, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 50.0% | — |
| 1971 | 47.4% | -5.2% |
| 1972 | 49.1% | +3.5% |
| 1973 | 52.6% | +7.1% |
| 1974 | 57.1% | +8.6% |
| 1975 | 64.2% | +12.5% |
| 1976 | 69.0% | +7.5% |
| 1977 | 73.6% | +6.6% |
| 1978 | 74.6% | +1.4% |
| 1979 | 75.7% | +1.4% |
| 1980 | 79.7% | +5.3% |
| 1981 | 85.0% | +6.7% |
| 1983 | 88.8% | +4.4% |
| 1984 | 88.9% | +0.2% |
| 1985 | 90.9% | +2.2% |
| 1986 | 91.3% | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 91.0% | -0.2% |
| 1988 | 90.7% | -0.3% |
| 1989 | 91.1% | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 90.2% | -0.9% |
| 1991 | 92.3% | +2.3% |
| 1992 | 91.1% | -1.3% |
| 1993 | 89.9% | -1.3% |
| 1994 | 89.3% | -0.7% |
| 1995 | 79.9% | -10.6% |
| 1996 | 80.3% | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 83.3% | +3.7% |
| 1999 | 82.7% | -0.7% |
| 2000 | 83.8% | +1.3% |
| 2001 | 85.5% | +2.1% |
| 2002 | 86.0% | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 86.8% | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 88.4% | +1.8% |
| 2005 | 89.4% | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 90.7% | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 89.7% | -1.1% |
| 2008 | 89.1% | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 88.9% | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 90.9% | +2.2% |
| 2013 | 89.3% | -1.8% |
| 2014 | 88.1% | -1.3% |
| 2022 | 99.5% | +13.0% |
Botswana compared with similar countries
- Botswana's 99.5% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 96.0%, 1.0× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Botswana's 99.5% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 84.5%, 1.2× the median. (46 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 61.3% | 47.4% | 75.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 88.6% | 79.7% | 91.3% | 9 |
| 1990s | 86.6% | 79.9% | 92.3% | 9 |
| 2000s | 87.8% | 83.8% | 90.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 89.4% | 88.1% | 90.9% | 3 |
| 2020s | 99.5% | 99.5% | 99.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
More education data for Botswana
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 15,284 (2021)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 9,590 (2022)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 20,760 (2022)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 20,779 (2022)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 175,513 (2021)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 381,674 (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 4.49 % change on previous year (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1564 units per person (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Botswana?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Botswana was 99.5% in 2022, 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 Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 99.5% in 2022.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 47.4% in 1971.
- How does Botswana rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- Botswana ranks 30th out of 209 countries with data for 2022.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Botswana 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.
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About this data
Share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.