Share of children who have completed primary school in Namibia

Namibia: Share of children who have completed primary school was 86.3% in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
86.3%
Change on year
up 0.7%
World rank
117th
of 165 countries
All-time high
86.3%
in 2025
All-time low
48.5%
in 1981
Years of data
45
1981–2025

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

0204060801981200320251981: 48.5 %1982: 49.4 %1983: 50.4 %1984: 51.4 %1985: 52.3 %1986: 53.3 %1987: 54.4 %1988: 55.5 %1989: 56.7 %1990: 57.8 %1991: 58.9 %1992: 60 %1993: 61.2 %1994: 62.5 %1995: 63.6 %1996: 64.5 %1997: 65.2 %1998: 65.8 %1999: 66.7 %2000: 67.6 %2001: 68.7 %2002: 69.7 %2003: 70.8 %2004: 71.9 %2005: 73 %2006: 74 %2007: 74.9 %2008: 75.6 %2009: 76.3 %2010: 77 %2011: 77.6 %2012: 78.1 %2013: 78.7 %2014: 79.3 %2015: 80 %2016: 80.7 %2017: 81.3 %2018: 82 %2019: 82.7 %2020: 83.3 %2021: 84 %2022: 84.6 %2023: 85.2 %2024: 85.7 %2025: 86.3 %

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 Namibia stood at 86.3%. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.

The figure is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 7.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children who have completed primary school in Namibia peaked at 86.3% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 48.5%, in 1981.

That places Namibia 117th 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 52.4% 48.5% 56.7% 9
1990s 62.6% 57.8% 66.7% 10
2000s 72.3% 67.6% 76.3% 10
2010s 79.7% 77.0% 82.7% 10
2020s 84.8% 83.3% 86.3% 6

Countries ranked near Namibia

  1. 114 Togo 87.8% compare
  2. 115 Guatemala 87.0% compare
  3. 116 Zimbabwe 86.9% compare
  4. 118 Comoros 86.1% compare
  5. 119 Morocco 84.6% compare
  6. 120 Iraq 83.3% compare

See the full ranking of 165 places →

More education data for Namibia

All data for Namibia →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children who have completed primary school in Namibia?
Share of children who have completed primary school in Namibia was 86.3% 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 Namibia?
The highest recorded value was 86.3% in 2025.
What is the lowest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Namibia?
The lowest recorded value was 48.5% in 1981.
How does Namibia rank for share of children who have completed primary school?
Namibia ranks 117th out of 165 countries with data for 2025.
Is share of children who have completed primary school rising or falling in Namibia?
Over the last ten years it is up 7.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Namibia 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.