Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 65.7% in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
65.7%
Change on year
up 13.2%
World rank
197th
of 209 countries
All-time high
75.6%
in 2018
All-time low
10.3%
in 1971
Years of data
47
1971–2024

Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Burkina Faso, 1971–2024

20406080197119972024

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Burkina Faso recorded 65.7% for share of children in primary school age who are in school in 2024.

That represents a change of up 13.2% on the previous year and down 0.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Burkina Faso peaked at 75.6% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 10.3%, in 1971.

That places Burkina Faso 197th out of 209 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 12.1% 10.3% 13.6% 5
1980s 20.2% 14.4% 25.1% 10
1990s 29.2% 26.0% 33.6% 7
2000s 45.2% 35.0% 62.4% 10
2010s 68.2% 59.0% 75.6% 10
2020s 66.8% 58.0% 71.5% 5

Countries ranked near Burkina Faso

  1. 194 Yemen 69.4% compare
  2. 195 Lesotho 67.8% compare
  3. 196 Mali 66.0% compare
  4. 198 Angola 63.2% compare
  5. 199 Central African Republic 62.1% compare
  6. 200 Liberia 61.7% compare

See the full ranking of 209 places →

More education data for Burkina Faso

All data for Burkina Faso →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Burkina Faso?
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Burkina Faso was 65.7% 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 Burkina Faso?
The highest recorded value was 75.6% in 2018.
What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Burkina Faso?
The lowest recorded value was 10.3% in 1971.
How does Burkina Faso rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
Burkina Faso ranks 197th out of 209 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Burkina Faso?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Burkina Faso 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 — 47 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of children in primary school age who are in school
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
209 places, 8,478 data points, 1820–2025
Last refreshed

The share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.