Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Tonga
Tonga: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 98.1% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Tonga, 1970–2023
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 Tonga is 98.1%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 1.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Tonga peaked at 100.0% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 77.6%, in 1983.
Tonga ranks 73rd of 209 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Tonga, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 95.4% | — |
| 1971 | 97.3% | +1.9% |
| 1972 | 98.2% | +1.0% |
| 1974 | 93.9% | -4.4% |
| 1975 | 97.4% | +3.7% |
| 1978 | 97.9% | +0.5% |
| 1982 | 86.7% | -11.4% |
| 1983 | 77.6% | -10.6% |
| 1984 | 87.6% | +12.9% |
| 1985 | 87.2% | -0.4% |
| 1986 | 87.4% | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 86.8% | -0.7% |
| 1993 | 86.7% | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 89.8% | +3.5% |
| 1999 | 91.4% | +1.8% |
| 2001 | 98.8% | +8.0% |
| 2004 | 99.6% | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 99.9% | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 99.9% | -0.0% |
| 2012 | 96.8% | -3.1% |
| 2013 | 96.8% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 96.7% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 97.7% | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 99.8% | +2.1% |
| 2019 | 100.0% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 99.7% | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 96.3% | -3.4% |
| 2022 | 97.7% | +1.5% |
| 2023 | 98.1% | +0.4% |
Tonga compared with similar countries
- Tonga's 98.1% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 96.0%, 1.0× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Tonga's 98.1% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 97.4%, 1.0× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 96.7% | 93.9% | 98.2% | 6 |
| 1980s | 85.3% | 77.6% | 87.6% | 5 |
| 1990s | 88.7% | 86.7% | 91.4% | 4 |
| 2000s | 99.6% | 98.8% | 99.9% | 4 |
| 2010s | 98.0% | 96.7% | 100.0% | 6 |
| 2020s | 98.0% | 96.3% | 99.7% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Tonga
More education data for Tonga
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 1,086 (2015)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 20 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1,228 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1,164 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 16,132 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 15,644 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.92 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1502 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Tonga?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Tonga was 98.1% 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 Tonga?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 2019.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Tonga?
- The lowest recorded value was 77.6% in 1983.
- How does Tonga rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- Tonga ranks 73rd out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Tonga?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Tonga 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.