Primary, secondary and tertiary … Primary, secondary, tertiary in Jamaica
Jamaica: Primary, secondary and tertiary … Primary, secondary, tertiary was 97.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Jamaica, 1971–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Jamaica recorded 97.3% for primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in 2024.
That represents a change of up 10.9% on the previous year and up 3.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Jamaica peaked at 112.7% in 1974 and was at its lowest, 87.7%, in 2023.
That places Jamaica 142nd out of 217 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 47 years of available data.
Primary, secondary and tertiary … Primary, secondary, tertiary in Jamaica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 109.4% | — |
| 1972 | 111.6% | +2.0% |
| 1973 | 108.7% | -2.6% |
| 1974 | 112.7% | +3.7% |
| 1975 | 106.2% | -5.8% |
| 1976 | 106.5% | +0.3% |
| 1977 | 106.0% | -0.5% |
| 1978 | 106.7% | +0.7% |
| 1979 | 107.9% | +1.1% |
| 1980 | 105.8% | -1.9% |
| 1981 | 104.9% | -0.9% |
| 1982 | 106.2% | +1.3% |
| 1983 | 105.9% | -0.3% |
| 1984 | 104.3% | -1.5% |
| 1985 | 102.5% | -1.7% |
| 1986 | 101.2% | -1.3% |
| 1987 | 102.5% | +1.3% |
| 1988 | 100.2% | -2.2% |
| 1989 | 101.5% | +1.3% |
| 1990 | 100.8% | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 100.0% | -0.7% |
| 1993 | 96.7% | -3.3% |
| 1999 | 91.0% | -5.8% |
| 2000 | 92.1% | +1.1% |
| 2001 | 91.7% | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 91.6% | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 90.6% | -1.2% |
| 2004 | 93.2% | +3.0% |
| 2005 | 93.7% | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 94.2% | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 98.7% | +4.8% |
| 2009 | 100.6% | +1.9% |
| 2010 | 97.2% | -3.4% |
| 2011 | 97.7% | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 97.3% | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 95.0% | -2.4% |
| 2014 | 94.0% | -1.1% |
| 2015 | 92.1% | -2.0% |
| 2016 | 93.1% | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 91.4% | -1.9% |
| 2018 | 94.9% | +3.9% |
| 2019 | 93.2% | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 90.9% | -2.4% |
| 2021 | 92.4% | +1.6% |
| 2022 | 93.3% | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 87.7% | -5.9% |
| 2024 | 97.3% | +10.9% |
Jamaica compared with similar countries
- Jamaica's 97.3% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 101.1%, 96% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Jamaica's 97.3% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 99.5%, 98% of the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 108.4% | 106.0% | 112.7% | 9 |
| 1980s | 103.5% | 100.2% | 106.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 97.1% | 91.0% | 100.8% | 4 |
| 2000s | 94.1% | 90.6% | 100.6% | 9 |
| 2010s | 94.6% | 91.4% | 97.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 92.3% | 87.7% | 97.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
More education data for Jamaica
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 11,043 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 4,597 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 52,983 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 51,265 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 177,095 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 211,097 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 8.14 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0744 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Jamaica?
- Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Jamaica was 97.3% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates recorded in Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 112.7% in 1974.
- What is the lowest primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 87.7% in 2023.
- How does Jamaica rank for primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates?
- Jamaica ranks 142nd out of 217 countries with data for 2024.
- Is primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Jamaica data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 47 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of children of any age group who are enrolled in primary education, expressed as a percentage of the total population of the official primary school age.