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

Turkey: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 99.4% in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
99.4%
Change on year
down 0.3%
World rank
33rd
of 209 countries
All-time high
100.0%
in 2013
All-time low
0.0%
in 1820
Years of data
57
1820–2023

Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Turkey, 1820–2023

020406080100182019212023

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Turkey recorded 99.4% for share of children in primary school age who are in school in 2023.

The figure is down 0.3% on the previous year and down 0.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Turkey peaked at 100.0% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1820.

Turkey ranks 33rd of 209 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1820s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
1830s 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 2
1840s 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 2
1850s 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 2
1860s 0.4% 0.3% 0.4% 2
1870s 0.7% 0.6% 0.8% 2
1880s 1.3% 1.1% 1.5% 2
1890s 2.4% 2.0% 2.8% 2
1900s 4.4% 3.7% 5.0% 2
1910s 7.9% 6.7% 9.0% 2
1920s 15.5% 11.8% 19.2% 2
1930s 25.0% 21.7% 28.3% 2
1940s 41.8% 35.5% 48.0% 2
1950s 58.8% 57.5% 60.1% 2
1960s 63.7% 54.3% 73.1% 2
1970s 78.3% 77.0% 79.7% 3
1980s 86.7% 70.2% 90.7% 6
1990s 90.0% 87.3% 92.3% 7
2010s 99.3% 98.2% 100.0% 7
2020s 99.7% 99.4% 99.8% 4

Countries ranked near Turkey

  1. 30 Botswana 99.5% compare
  2. 31 Tuvalu 99.5% compare
  3. 32 Sweden 99.4% compare
  4. 34 Togo 99.4% compare
  5. 35 Cyprus 99.4% compare
  6. 36 Uzbekistan 99.3% compare

See the full ranking of 209 places →

More education data for Turkey

All data for Turkey →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Turkey?
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Turkey was 99.4% 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 Turkey?
The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 2013.
What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Turkey?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1820.
How does Turkey rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
Turkey ranks 33rd out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Turkey?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Turkey 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 — 57 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.