Share of children who have completed primary school in Botswana
Botswana: Share of children who have completed primary school was 99.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of children who have completed primary school in Botswana, 1981–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of children who have completed primary school in Botswana is 99.0%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 3.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who have completed primary school in Botswana peaked at 99.0% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 55.9%, in 1981.
That places Botswana 57th out of 165 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Share of children who have completed primary school in Botswana, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 55.9% | — |
| 1982 | 57.3% | +2.6% |
| 1983 | 59.1% | +3.1% |
| 1984 | 61.1% | +3.4% |
| 1985 | 63.2% | +3.4% |
| 1986 | 65.1% | +3.0% |
| 1987 | 67.0% | +2.9% |
| 1988 | 68.9% | +2.7% |
| 1989 | 70.8% | +2.7% |
| 1990 | 72.6% | +2.6% |
| 1991 | 74.2% | +2.3% |
| 1992 | 75.6% | +1.9% |
| 1993 | 76.9% | +1.6% |
| 1994 | 77.9% | +1.3% |
| 1995 | 78.8% | +1.2% |
| 1996 | 79.7% | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 80.6% | +1.1% |
| 1998 | 81.4% | +1.0% |
| 1999 | 82.0% | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 82.4% | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 82.7% | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 82.8% | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 83.1% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 83.5% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 84.0% | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 84.7% | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 85.7% | +1.2% |
| 2008 | 87.0% | +1.6% |
| 2009 | 88.6% | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 90.3% | +1.9% |
| 2011 | 91.9% | +1.8% |
| 2012 | 93.2% | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 94.3% | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 95.2% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 95.9% | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 96.5% | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 97.0% | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 97.4% | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 97.7% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 98.0% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 98.3% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 98.5% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 98.7% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 98.9% | +0.2% |
| 2025 | 99.0% | +0.1% |
Botswana compared with similar countries
- Botswana's 99.0% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 98.7%, 1.0× the median. (50 countries reporting)
- Botswana's 99.0% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 72.2%, 1.4× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 63.2% | 55.9% | 70.8% | 9 |
| 1990s | 78.0% | 72.6% | 82.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 84.4% | 82.4% | 88.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 94.9% | 90.3% | 97.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 98.6% | 98.0% | 99.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
More education data for Botswana
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 15,284 (2021)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 9,590 (2022)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 20,760 (2022)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 20,779 (2022)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 175,513 (2021)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 381,674 (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 4.49 % change on previous year (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1564 units per person (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who have completed primary school in Botswana?
- Share of children who have completed primary school in Botswana was 99.0% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 99.0% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 55.9% in 1981.
- How does Botswana rank for share of children who have completed primary school?
- Botswana ranks 57th out of 165 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of children who have completed primary school rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Botswana data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children who have completed primary school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Share of children who are three to five years older than the official age for the last grade of primary education who have successfully completed it. This broader age band is used to include children who started school late or had to resit particular years.