Share of children in primary school age who are in school in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 99.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in United Kingdom, 1820–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
United Kingdom recorded 99.9% for share of children in primary school age who are in school in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in United Kingdom peaked at 100.0% in 1905 and was at its lowest, 13.3%, in 1820.
United Kingdom ranks 7th of 209 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 57 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 14.1% | 13.3% | 14.8% | 2 |
| 1830s | 17.2% | 16.4% | 18.1% | 2 |
| 1840s | 21.0% | 20.0% | 22.0% | 2 |
| 1850s | 25.2% | 24.1% | 26.4% | 2 |
| 1860s | 26.6% | 24.4% | 28.8% | 2 |
| 1870s | 44.4% | 39.0% | 49.8% | 2 |
| 1880s | 77.2% | 77.1% | 77.2% | 2 |
| 1890s | 94.3% | 93.0% | 95.6% | 2 |
| 1900s | 98.9% | 97.8% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1910s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1920s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1930s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1940s | 88.6% | 84.7% | 92.4% | 2 |
| 1950s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 86.7% | 86.7% | 86.7% | 2 |
| 1970s | 98.0% | 98.0% | 98.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 96.0% | 96.0% | 96.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 99.5% | 97.6% | 100.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 98.9% | 98.1% | 99.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 99.9% | 99.9% | 100.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More education data for United Kingdom
- Duration of pre-primary education 2 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 63.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 17.0% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 11 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 5 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 102.2% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 281,128 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.55 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 102.1% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in United Kingdom?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in United Kingdom was 99.9% 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 United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1905.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.3% in 1820.
- How does United Kingdom rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- United Kingdom ranks 7th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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
The share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.