Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Uganda
Uganda: Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates was 106.2% in 2017. ▲ Rising
Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Uganda, 1970–2017
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Uganda recorded 106.2% for primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in 2017.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and down 11.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Uganda peaked at 136.6% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 36.8%, in 1970.
Uganda ranks 59th of 217 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 47 years of available data.
Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Uganda, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 36.8% | — |
| 1971 | 38.9% | +5.7% |
| 1972 | 37.3% | -4.1% |
| 1973 | 37.7% | +1.0% |
| 1974 | 39.5% | +4.6% |
| 1975 | 42.4% | +7.3% |
| 1976 | 43.7% | +3.2% |
| 1977 | 46.5% | +6.4% |
| 1978 | 47.8% | +2.8% |
| 1979 | 46.9% | -1.9% |
| 1980 | 48.6% | +3.5% |
| 1981 | 51.2% | +5.4% |
| 1982 | 57.4% | +12.1% |
| 1983 | 60.0% | +4.5% |
| 1984 | 65.4% | +9.1% |
| 1985 | 70.1% | +7.3% |
| 1986 | 71.3% | +1.7% |
| 1987 | 73.0% | +2.3% |
| 1988 | 74.5% | +2.0% |
| 1989 | 71.0% | -4.7% |
| 1990 | 71.9% | +1.4% |
| 1991 | 72.8% | +1.1% |
| 1992 | 65.5% | -9.9% |
| 1993 | 70.2% | +7.1% |
| 1994 | 70.2% | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 70.3% | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 71.2% | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 118.1% | +65.8% |
| 1998 | 124.3% | +5.3% |
| 1999 | 129.5% | +4.2% |
| 2000 | 130.2% | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 132.1% | +1.5% |
| 2002 | 135.9% | +2.9% |
| 2003 | 136.6% | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 127.9% | -6.4% |
| 2005 | 121.5% | -5.0% |
| 2006 | 120.1% | -1.1% |
| 2007 | 119.3% | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 122.4% | +2.6% |
| 2009 | 123.9% | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 121.3% | -2.1% |
| 2011 | 113.9% | -6.1% |
| 2012 | 113.7% | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 112.3% | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 104.2% | -7.2% |
| 2016 | 106.5% | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 106.2% | -0.3% |
Uganda compared with similar countries
- Uganda's 106.2% is above the median for low income countries, which is 96.8%, 1.1× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Uganda's 106.2% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 100.4%, 1.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Uganda 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | +65.8% | 71.2% | 118.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 41.8% | 36.8% | 47.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 64.2% | 48.6% | 74.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 86.4% | 65.5% | 129.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 127.0% | 119.3% | 136.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 111.2% | 104.2% | 121.3% | 7 |
Countries ranked near Uganda
- 56 Palau 106.9% compare
- 57 Bangladesh 106.5% compare
- 58 Vietnam 106.3% compare
- 60 Reunion 106.1% compare
- 61 Montenegro 106.1% compare
- 62 Azerbaijan 105.6% compare
More education data for Uganda
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 63,957 (2014)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 778,349 (2017)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 301,523 (2017)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 307,450 (2017)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.03 million (2007)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 8.84 million (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.13 % change on previous year (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.22 units per person (2017)
Frequently asked questions
- What is primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Uganda?
- Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Uganda was 106.2% in 2017, 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 Uganda?
- The highest recorded value was 136.6% in 2003.
- What is the lowest primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates recorded in Uganda?
- The lowest recorded value was 36.8% in 1970.
- How does Uganda rank for primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates?
- Uganda ranks 59th out of 217 countries with data for 2017.
- Is primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates rising or falling in Uganda?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Uganda 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.