Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Hong Kong

Hong Kong: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 98.6% in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
98.6%
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
58th
of 209 countries
All-time high
99.9%
in 2019
All-time low
0.0%
in 1820
Years of data
57
1820–2024

Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Hong Kong, 1820–2024

020406080100182019222024

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of children in primary school age who are in school in Hong Kong is 98.6%, measured in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and down 0.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Hong Kong peaked at 99.9% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1820.

That places Hong Kong 58th out of 209 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1820s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
1830s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
1840s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
1850s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
1860s 0.8% 0.4% 1.2% 2
1870s 3.7% 2.6% 4.8% 2
1880s 11.0% 8.3% 13.6% 2
1890s 19.5% 18.1% 20.9% 2
1900s 15.0% 14.6% 15.4% 2
1910s 15.8% 13.8% 17.9% 2
1920s 29.9% 22.0% 37.9% 2
1930s 54.8% 53.8% 55.9% 2
1940s 46.7% 44.9% 48.5% 2
1950s 32.7% 29.4% 35.9% 2
1960s 70.0% 59.0% 81.0% 2
1970s 89.5% 87.0% 92.0% 2
1980s 95.0% 95.0% 95.0% 1
2000s 97.9% 96.0% 99.6% 9
2010s 99.6% 99.1% 99.9% 10
2020s 98.9% 98.5% 99.3% 5

Countries ranked near Hong Kong

  1. 55 Spain 98.8% compare
  2. 56 Palau 98.7% compare
  3. 57 Norway 98.6% compare
  4. 59 Austria 98.6% compare
  5. 60 Slovenia 98.6% compare
  6. 61 Marshall Islands 98.5% compare

See the full ranking of 209 places →

More education data for Hong Kong

All data for Hong Kong →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Hong Kong?
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Hong Kong was 98.6% 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 Hong Kong?
The highest recorded value was 99.9% in 2019.
What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Hong Kong?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1820.
How does Hong Kong rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
Hong Kong ranks 58th out of 209 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Hong Kong?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Hong Kong 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 — 57 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.