Share of children who have completed primary school in Mali
Mali: Share of children who have completed primary school was 50.0% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Share of children who have completed primary school in Mali, 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 Mali stood at 50.0%. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
The figure is up 1.4% on the previous year and up 16.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who have completed primary school in Mali peaked at 50.0% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 12.3%, in 1987.
That places Mali 158th 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 | 12.4% | 12.3% | 12.5% | 9 |
| 1990s | 14.3% | 12.5% | 17.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 26.9% | 19.1% | 35.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 42.4% | 37.1% | 46.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 48.5% | 47.1% | 50.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Mali
- 155 Mozambique 53.5% compare
- 156 Mauritania 51.8% compare
- 157 Haiti 50.5% compare
- 159 Chad 37.8% compare
- 160 Central African Republic 30.8% compare
- 161 Guinea-Bissau 30.5% compare
More education data for Mali
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 51.8% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 45.8% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 72.8% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 59,920 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 5.51 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 69.4% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who have completed primary school in Mali?
- Share of children who have completed primary school in Mali was 50.0% 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 Mali?
- The highest recorded value was 50.0% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Mali?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.3% in 1987.
- How does Mali rank for share of children who have completed primary school?
- Mali ranks 158th out of 165 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of children who have completed primary school rising or falling in Mali?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Mali 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.