Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Guyana
Guyana: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 82.0% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Guyana, 1820–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Guyana recorded 82.0% for share of children in primary school age who are in school in 2023.
The figure is up 2.5% on the previous year and down 17.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Guyana peaked at 100.0% in 1945 and was at its lowest, 1.6%, in 1820.
That places Guyana 179th out of 209 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 55 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 1.8% | 1.6% | 2.0% | 2 |
| 1830s | 2.7% | 2.4% | 3.0% | 2 |
| 1840s | 4.0% | 3.6% | 4.4% | 2 |
| 1850s | 5.9% | 5.3% | 6.5% | 2 |
| 1860s | 15.0% | 13.8% | 16.2% | 2 |
| 1870s | 43.8% | 43.2% | 44.4% | 2 |
| 1880s | 48.7% | 44.1% | 53.2% | 2 |
| 1890s | 64.2% | 64.1% | 64.4% | 2 |
| 1900s | 63.5% | 62.4% | 64.7% | 2 |
| 1910s | 74.8% | 68.4% | 81.2% | 2 |
| 1920s | 79.8% | 78.8% | 80.7% | 2 |
| 1930s | 89.6% | 85.9% | 93.2% | 2 |
| 1940s | 95.6% | 91.2% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1950s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 96.8% | 95.0% | 98.5% | 2 |
| 1970s | 88.8% | 84.0% | 94.3% | 8 |
| 1980s | 89.7% | 88.4% | 91.1% | 2 |
| 1990s | 90.4% | 88.4% | 92.3% | 5 |
| 2000s | 95.3% | 91.8% | 99.4% | 3 |
| 2010s | 95.7% | 83.9% | 99.7% | 4 |
| 2020s | 81.0% | 80.0% | 82.0% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Guyana
More education data for Guyana
- Duration of pre-primary education 2 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 64.1% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 28.9% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 97.6% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 6,330 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 2.4 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 97.3% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Guyana?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Guyana was 82.0% in 2023, 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 Guyana?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1945.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Guyana?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.6% in 1820.
- How does Guyana rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- Guyana ranks 179th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Guyana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Guyana 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
The share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.