Share of children who have completed primary school in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Share of children who have completed primary school was 64.6% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Share of children who have completed primary school in Ethiopia, 1981–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, share of children who have completed primary school in Ethiopia stood at 64.6%. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
The figure is up 2.6% on the previous year and up 35.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who have completed primary school in Ethiopia peaked at 64.6% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 9.3%, in 1981.
That places Ethiopia 148th out of 165 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 10.9% | 9.3% | 12.6% | 9 |
| 1990s | 14.1% | 12.7% | 17.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 26.3% | 18.2% | 35.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 46.6% | 37.6% | 55.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 60.6% | 56.7% | 64.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
More education data for Ethiopia
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 57.9% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 38.8% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 84.4% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 338,716 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 3.91 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 81.4% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who have completed primary school in Ethiopia?
- Share of children who have completed primary school in Ethiopia was 64.6% 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 Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 64.6% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.3% in 1981.
- How does Ethiopia rank for share of children who have completed primary school?
- Ethiopia ranks 148th out of 165 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of children who have completed primary school rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 35.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Ethiopia 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
CSV · JSON — 45 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
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.