Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Maldives
Maldives: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 99.1% in 2024. ▬ Flat
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Maldives, 1997–2024
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 Maldives is 99.1%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 6.3% on the previous year and up 4.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Maldives peaked at 99.1% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 93.1%, in 1997.
That places Maldives 47th out of 209 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Maldives, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 93.1% | — |
| 1999 | 96.6% | +3.7% |
| 2000 | 96.8% | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 96.7% | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 96.5% | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 96.4% | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 95.8% | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 95.7% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 94.6% | -1.1% |
| 2008 | 94.6% | -0.0% |
| 2009 | 95.5% | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 95.3% | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 94.6% | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 93.7% | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 93.4% | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 95.2% | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 95.2% | -0.0% |
| 2016 | 94.3% | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 95.0% | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 95.1% | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 95.6% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 95.5% | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 94.6% | -0.9% |
| 2023 | 93.2% | -1.5% |
| 2024 | 99.1% | +6.3% |
Maldives compared with similar countries
- Maldives's 99.1% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 96.0%, 1.0× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Maldives's 99.1% is above the median for South Asia, which is 96.6%, 1.0× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 94.8% | 93.1% | 96.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 95.8% | 94.6% | 96.8% | 9 |
| 2010s | 94.7% | 93.4% | 95.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 95.6% | 93.2% | 99.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Maldives
More education data for Maldives
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 3,474 (2022)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 8,838 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 4,920 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 33,002 (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 44,013 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -3.52 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0834 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Maldives?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Maldives was 99.1% 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 Maldives?
- The highest recorded value was 99.1% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Maldives?
- The lowest recorded value was 93.1% in 1997.
- How does Maldives rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- Maldives ranks 47th out of 209 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Maldives?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Maldives 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 — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.