Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Iran

Iran: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 99.9% in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
99.9%
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
9th
of 209 countries
All-time high
99.9%
in 2023
All-time low
0.0%
in 1820
Years of data
64
1820–2023

Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Iran, 1820–2023

020406080100182019212023

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 Iran is 99.9%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 2.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Iran peaked at 99.9% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1820.

That places Iran 9th out of 209 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

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 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
1870s 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 2
1880s 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 2
1890s 0.2% 0.2% 0.3% 2
1900s 0.4% 0.4% 0.5% 2
1910s 0.8% 0.7% 0.9% 2
1920s 2.0% 1.3% 2.6% 2
1930s 6.8% 5.8% 7.8% 2
1940s 12.5% 12.5% 12.5% 2
1950s 25.2% 24.2% 26.2% 2
1960s 36.2% 34.0% 38.3% 2
1970s 64.9% 57.2% 77.6% 3
1980s 81.9% 73.7% 83.8% 7
1990s 88.5% 83.0% 92.1% 4
2000s 95.5% 83.3% 99.1% 8
2010s 96.4% 94.5% 98.4% 9
2020s 99.2% 98.2% 99.9% 3

Countries ranked near Iran

  1. 6 Japan 99.9% compare
  2. 7 United Kingdom 99.9% compare
  3. 8 Poland 99.9% compare
  4. 10 Greece 99.9% compare
  5. 11 India 99.9% compare
  6. 12 Australia 99.9% compare

See the full ranking of 209 places →

More education data for Iran

All data for Iran →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Iran?
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Iran was 99.9% 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 Iran?
The highest recorded value was 99.9% in 2023.
What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Iran?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1820.
How does Iran rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
Iran ranks 9th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Iran?
Over the last ten years it is up 2.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Iran 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 — 64 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.