Share of children who have completed primary school in Maldives
Maldives: Share of children who have completed primary school was 99.4% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of children who have completed primary school in Maldives, 1981–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Maldives recorded 99.4% for share of children who have completed primary school in 2025. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who have completed primary school in Maldives peaked at 99.4% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 39.1%, in 1981.
Maldives ranks 50th of 165 countries on this measure, 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 Maldives, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 39.1% | — |
| 1982 | 40.2% | +2.8% |
| 1983 | 41.8% | +3.8% |
| 1984 | 43.2% | +3.5% |
| 1985 | 45.4% | +4.9% |
| 1986 | 47.6% | +4.9% |
| 1987 | 50.1% | +5.2% |
| 1988 | 52.6% | +5.1% |
| 1989 | 55.5% | +5.5% |
| 1990 | 59.0% | +6.2% |
| 1991 | 62.3% | +5.6% |
| 1992 | 65.8% | +5.7% |
| 1993 | 69.3% | +5.3% |
| 1994 | 72.8% | +5.0% |
| 1995 | 76.2% | +4.7% |
| 1996 | 79.5% | +4.4% |
| 1997 | 82.6% | +3.9% |
| 1998 | 85.3% | +3.3% |
| 1999 | 87.8% | +2.9% |
| 2000 | 89.9% | +2.4% |
| 2001 | 91.6% | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 92.9% | +1.5% |
| 2003 | 94.0% | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 94.8% | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 95.5% | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 96.0% | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 96.3% | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 96.5% | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 96.7% | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 96.9% | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 97.0% | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 97.2% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 97.3% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 97.5% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 97.7% | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 97.9% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 98.1% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 98.3% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 98.5% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 98.7% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 98.8% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 99.0% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 99.1% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 99.2% | +0.1% |
| 2025 | 99.4% | +0.1% |
Maldives compared with similar countries
- Maldives's 99.4% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 98.7%, 1.0× the median. (50 countries reporting)
- Maldives's 99.4% is above the median for South Asia, which is 93.6%, 1.1× the median. (5 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 46.2% | 39.1% | 55.5% | 9 |
| 1990s | 74.0% | 59.0% | 87.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 94.4% | 89.9% | 96.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 97.6% | 96.9% | 98.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 99.0% | 98.7% | 99.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Maldives
More education data for Maldives
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 3,474 (2022)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 8,838 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 4,920 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 33,002 (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 44,013 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -3.52 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0834 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who have completed primary school in Maldives?
- Share of children who have completed primary school in Maldives was 99.4% 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 Maldives?
- The highest recorded value was 99.4% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Maldives?
- The lowest recorded value was 39.1% in 1981.
- How does Maldives rank for share of children who have completed primary school?
- Maldives ranks 50th out of 165 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of children who have completed primary school rising or falling in Maldives?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Maldives 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.