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

Latest (2025)
99.0%
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
57th
of 165 countries
All-time high
99.0%
in 2025
All-time low
55.9%
in 1981
Years of data
45
1981–2025

Share of children who have completed primary school in Botswana, 1981–2025

0204060801001981200320251981: 55.9 %1982: 57.3 %1983: 59.1 %1984: 61.1 %1985: 63.2 %1986: 65.1 %1987: 67 %1988: 68.9 %1989: 70.8 %1990: 72.6 %1991: 74.2 %1992: 75.6 %1993: 76.9 %1994: 77.9 %1995: 78.8 %1996: 79.7 %1997: 80.6 %1998: 81.4 %1999: 82 %2000: 82.4 %2001: 82.7 %2002: 82.8 %2003: 83.1 %2004: 83.5 %2005: 84 %2006: 84.7 %2007: 85.7 %2008: 87 %2009: 88.6 %2010: 90.3 %2011: 91.9 %2012: 93.2 %2013: 94.3 %2014: 95.2 %2015: 95.9 %2016: 96.5 %2017: 97 %2018: 97.4 %2019: 97.7 %2020: 98 %2021: 98.3 %2022: 98.5 %2023: 98.7 %2024: 98.9 %2025: 99 %

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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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

  1. 54 Hungary 99.2% compare
  2. 55 Bulgaria 99.1% compare
  3. 56 Romania 99.1% compare
  4. 57 China 99.0% compare
  5. 59 Cyprus 99.0% compare
  6. 60 Belgium 98.9% compare
  7. 60 Costa Rica 98.9% compare

See the full ranking of 165 places →

More education data for Botswana

All data for Botswana →

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.

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About this data

Indicator
Share of children who have completed primary school
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
165 places, 7,390 data points, 1981–2025
Last refreshed

The 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.