Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 99.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Saudi Arabia, 1979–2024
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 Saudi Arabia is 99.5%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.4% on the previous year and up 5.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Saudi Arabia peaked at 99.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 69.3%, in 1979.
Saudi Arabia ranks 29th of 209 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 69.3% | — |
| 2009 | 98.0% | +41.4% |
| 2010 | 97.6% | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 96.0% | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 96.2% | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 92.4% | -3.9% |
| 2014 | 94.0% | +1.7% |
| 2015 | 96.3% | +2.4% |
| 2016 | 97.1% | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 97.8% | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 96.6% | -1.2% |
| 2022 | 97.1% | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 99.5% | +2.4% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 99.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 98.2%, 1.0× the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 99.5% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 95.4%, 1.0× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Saudi Arabia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | +41.4% | 69.3% | 98.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 69.3% | 69.3% | 69.3% | 1 |
| 2000s | 98.0% | 98.0% | 98.0% | 1 |
| 2010s | 95.7% | 92.4% | 97.6% | 7 |
| 2020s | 97.7% | 96.6% | 99.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More education data for Saudi Arabia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 242,375 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 26,900 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 215,559 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 214,840 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.36 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.45 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.53 % change on previous year (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0976 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Saudi Arabia?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Saudi Arabia was 99.5% 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 Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 99.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 69.3% in 1979.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 29th out of 209 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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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CSV · JSON — 13 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.