Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Tanzania
Tanzania: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 83.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Tanzania, 1976–2024
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 Tanzania is 83.6%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 2.7% on the previous year and up 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Tanzania peaked at 96.2% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 48.6%, in 1994.
That places Tanzania 174th out of 209 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 44 years of available data.
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Tanzania, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 50.1% | — |
| 1980 | 69.9% | +39.5% |
| 1981 | 68.0% | -2.7% |
| 1982 | 62.6% | -7.9% |
| 1983 | 60.9% | -2.7% |
| 1984 | 57.2% | -6.0% |
| 1985 | 54.1% | -5.4% |
| 1986 | 52.6% | -2.9% |
| 1987 | 51.1% | -2.8% |
| 1988 | 49.5% | -3.2% |
| 1989 | 49.6% | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 49.2% | -0.8% |
| 1991 | 48.9% | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 49.5% | +1.2% |
| 1993 | 49.3% | -0.4% |
| 1994 | 48.6% | -1.5% |
| 1995 | 48.7% | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 49.1% | +0.8% |
| 1997 | 49.9% | +1.6% |
| 1998 | 49.7% | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 50.3% | +1.3% |
| 2000 | 54.1% | +7.5% |
| 2001 | 58.9% | +9.0% |
| 2002 | 74.1% | +25.9% |
| 2003 | 82.6% | +11.4% |
| 2004 | 86.6% | +4.9% |
| 2005 | 90.7% | +4.6% |
| 2006 | 95.5% | +5.3% |
| 2008 | 96.2% | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 90.2% | -6.3% |
| 2011 | 89.5% | -0.8% |
| 2012 | 86.5% | -3.3% |
| 2013 | 83.8% | -3.2% |
| 2014 | 82.5% | -1.5% |
| 2015 | 80.5% | -2.5% |
| 2016 | 84.5% | +5.1% |
| 2017 | 84.9% | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 83.1% | -2.2% |
| 2019 | 85.7% | +3.1% |
| 2020 | 86.6% | +1.1% |
| 2021 | 87.3% | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 87.0% | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 85.9% | -1.2% |
| 2024 | 83.6% | -2.7% |
Tanzania compared with similar countries
- Tanzania's 83.6% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 93.7%, 89% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Tanzania's 83.6% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 84.5%, 99% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Tanzania 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | +39.5% | 50.1% | 69.9% |
| 2002 | +25.9% | 58.9% | 74.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 50.1% | 50.1% | 50.1% | 1 |
| 1980s | 57.5% | 49.5% | 69.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 49.3% | 48.6% | 50.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 79.8% | 54.1% | 96.2% | 8 |
| 2010s | 85.1% | 80.5% | 90.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 86.1% | 83.6% | 87.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Tanzania
More education data for Tanzania
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 106,006 (2020)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 331,605 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 851,911 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 824,648 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.83 million (2021)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 11.39 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.3307 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1661 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Tanzania?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Tanzania was 83.6% 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 Tanzania?
- The highest recorded value was 96.2% in 2008.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Tanzania?
- The lowest recorded value was 48.6% in 1994.
- How does Tanzania rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- Tanzania ranks 174th out of 209 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Tanzania?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Tanzania 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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About this data
Share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.