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

Malta: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 97.4% in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
97.4%
Change on year
up 0.3%
Rank
88th
of 209 regions
All-time high
100.0%
in 1940
All-time low
2.8%
in 1820
Years of data
46
1820–2023

Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Malta, 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 Malta is 97.4%, measured in 2023.

The figure is up 0.3% on the previous year and down 1.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Malta peaked at 100.0% in 1940 and was at its lowest, 2.8%, in 1820.

Malta ranks 88th of 209 regions on this measure, 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 3.1% 2.8% 3.4% 2
1830s 4.6% 4.2% 5.1% 2
1840s 6.9% 6.2% 7.5% 2
1850s 10.1% 9.2% 11.1% 2
1860s 14.6% 13.3% 15.9% 2
1870s 20.7% 19.0% 22.4% 2
1880s 28.5% 26.3% 30.6% 2
1890s 41.8% 35.3% 48.2% 2
1900s 65.3% 61.0% 69.5% 2
1910s 75.5% 72.9% 78.0% 2
1920s 73.5% 67.8% 79.1% 2
1930s 92.8% 90.3% 95.2% 2
1940s 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 2
1950s 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 2
1960s 77.5% 76.0% 79.0% 2
1970s 86.0% 84.0% 88.0% 2
1980s 87.0% 87.0% 87.0% 1
2010s 99.1% 98.5% 99.9% 9
2020s 97.4% 97.0% 97.7% 4

Countries ranked near Malta

  1. 85 Cook Islands 97.5% compare
  2. 86 New Zealand 97.4% compare
  3. 87 Sierra Leone 97.4% compare
  4. 89 Israel 97.3% compare
  5. 90 Latvia 97.3% compare
  6. 91 Hungary 97.2% compare

See the full ranking of 209 places →

More education data for Malta

All data for Malta →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Malta?
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Malta was 97.4% 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 Malta?
The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1940.
What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Malta?
The lowest recorded value was 2.8% in 1820.
How does Malta rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
Malta ranks 88th out of 209 regions with data for 2023.
Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Malta?
Over the last ten years it is down 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Malta 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 — 46 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.