Share of children who have completed primary school in Tanzania
Tanzania: Share of children who have completed primary school was 75.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of children who have completed primary school in Tanzania, 1981–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Tanzania recorded 75.7% for share of children who have completed primary school in 2025.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 0.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who have completed primary school in Tanzania peaked at 76.0% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 64.8%, in 2001.
Tanzania ranks 132nd of 165 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Share of children who have completed primary school in Tanzania, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 68.5% | — |
| 1982 | 68.8% | +0.4% |
| 1983 | 69.2% | +0.6% |
| 1984 | 69.7% | +0.7% |
| 1985 | 70.1% | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 70.2% | +0.2% |
| 1987 | 69.9% | -0.4% |
| 1988 | 69.4% | -0.7% |
| 1989 | 68.8% | -0.8% |
| 1990 | 68.3% | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 68.0% | -0.5% |
| 1992 | 67.8% | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 67.8% | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 67.8% | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 67.6% | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 67.3% | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 66.8% | -0.8% |
| 1998 | 66.1% | -1.0% |
| 1999 | 65.5% | -0.9% |
| 2000 | 65.1% | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 64.8% | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 64.8% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 65.2% | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 66.0% | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 67.3% | +2.0% |
| 2006 | 68.9% | +2.4% |
| 2007 | 70.7% | +2.5% |
| 2008 | 72.2% | +2.2% |
| 2009 | 73.5% | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 74.6% | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 75.5% | +1.2% |
| 2012 | 76.0% | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 76.0% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 75.6% | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 75.0% | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 74.4% | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 73.9% | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 73.7% | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 73.8% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 74.0% | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 74.4% | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 74.8% | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 75.1% | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 75.5% | +0.5% |
| 2025 | 75.7% | +0.3% |
Tanzania compared with similar countries
- Tanzania's 75.7% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 86.1%, 88% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Tanzania's 75.7% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 72.2%, 1.0× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 69.4% | 68.5% | 70.2% | 9 |
| 1990s | 67.3% | 65.5% | 68.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 67.8% | 64.8% | 73.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 74.9% | 73.7% | 76.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 74.9% | 74.0% | 75.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Tanzania
More education data for Tanzania
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 106,006 (2020)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 331,605 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 851,911 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 824,648 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.83 million (2021)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 11.39 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.3307 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1661 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who have completed primary school in Tanzania?
- Share of children who have completed primary school in Tanzania was 75.7% 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 Tanzania?
- The highest recorded value was 76.0% in 2013.
- What is the lowest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Tanzania?
- The lowest recorded value was 64.8% in 2001.
- How does Tanzania rank for share of children who have completed primary school?
- Tanzania ranks 132nd out of 165 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of children who have completed primary school rising or falling in Tanzania?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Tanzania 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.