Share of children who have completed primary school in Iraq
Iraq: Share of children who have completed primary school was 83.3% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of children who have completed primary school in Iraq, 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 Iraq stood at 83.3%. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 16.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who have completed primary school in Iraq peaked at 83.3% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 54.3%, in 2000.
That places Iraq 120th 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 Iraq, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 62.7% | — |
| 1982 | 63.1% | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 63.4% | +0.4% |
| 1984 | 63.5% | +0.2% |
| 1985 | 63.4% | -0.2% |
| 1986 | 63.1% | -0.5% |
| 1987 | 62.6% | -0.7% |
| 1988 | 62.1% | -0.8% |
| 1989 | 61.7% | -0.6% |
| 1990 | 61.4% | -0.5% |
| 1991 | 61.2% | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 60.7% | -0.8% |
| 1993 | 59.8% | -1.5% |
| 1994 | 58.7% | -1.8% |
| 1995 | 57.5% | -2.0% |
| 1996 | 56.5% | -1.9% |
| 1997 | 55.6% | -1.6% |
| 1998 | 54.9% | -1.1% |
| 1999 | 54.5% | -0.7% |
| 2000 | 54.3% | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 54.5% | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 55.2% | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 56.2% | +1.8% |
| 2004 | 57.3% | +1.9% |
| 2005 | 58.2% | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 58.9% | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 59.5% | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 60.3% | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 61.4% | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 62.8% | +2.3% |
| 2011 | 64.3% | +2.5% |
| 2012 | 66.1% | +2.8% |
| 2013 | 68.0% | +2.8% |
| 2014 | 69.8% | +2.8% |
| 2015 | 71.7% | +2.7% |
| 2016 | 73.5% | +2.5% |
| 2017 | 75.2% | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 76.7% | +2.0% |
| 2019 | 78.0% | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 79.2% | +1.5% |
| 2021 | 80.2% | +1.3% |
| 2022 | 81.1% | +1.1% |
| 2023 | 81.9% | +1.0% |
| 2024 | 82.7% | +0.9% |
| 2025 | 83.3% | +0.8% |
Iraq compared with similar countries
- Iraq's 83.3% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 98.7%, 84% of the median. (50 countries reporting)
- Iraq's 83.3% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 96.6%, 86% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 62.8% | 61.7% | 63.5% | 9 |
| 1990s | 58.1% | 54.5% | 61.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 57.6% | 54.3% | 61.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 70.6% | 62.8% | 78.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 81.4% | 79.2% | 83.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iraq
More education data for Iraq
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 148,363 (2007)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 818,729 (2007)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 55,944 (2007)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 52,985 (2007)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.04 million (2007)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.86 million (2007)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.26 % change on previous year (2004)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2007)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1713 units per person (2007)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who have completed primary school in Iraq?
- Share of children who have completed primary school in Iraq was 83.3% 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 Iraq?
- The highest recorded value was 83.3% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Iraq?
- The lowest recorded value was 54.3% in 2000.
- How does Iraq rank for share of children who have completed primary school?
- Iraq ranks 120th out of 165 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of children who have completed primary school rising or falling in Iraq?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iraq 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
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.