Share of children who have completed primary school in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: Share of children who have completed primary school was 86.9% in 2025. ▬ Flat

Latest (2025)
86.9%
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
116th
of 165 countries
All-time high
86.9%
in 2025
All-time low
83.2%
in 1981
Years of data
45
1981–2025

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

0204060801981200320251981: 83.2 %1982: 83.2 %1983: 83.3 %1984: 83.4 %1985: 83.5 %1986: 83.6 %1987: 83.7 %1988: 83.7 %1989: 83.8 %1990: 84 %1991: 84.2 %1992: 84.3 %1993: 84.6 %1994: 84.8 %1995: 84.9 %1996: 85 %1997: 85.1 %1998: 85.2 %1999: 85.3 %2000: 85.3 %2001: 85.3 %2002: 85.3 %2003: 85.2 %2004: 85.1 %2005: 85 %2006: 84.9 %2007: 84.8 %2008: 84.7 %2009: 84.6 %2010: 84.6 %2011: 84.5 %2012: 84.5 %2013: 84.5 %2014: 84.8 %2015: 85 %2016: 85.3 %2017: 85.7 %2018: 85.9 %2019: 86.2 %2020: 86.4 %2021: 86.6 %2022: 86.7 %2023: 86.7 %2024: 86.8 %2025: 86.9 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of children who have completed primary school in Zimbabwe is 86.9%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 2.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children who have completed primary school in Zimbabwe peaked at 86.9% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 83.2%, in 1981.

Zimbabwe ranks 116th of 165 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 83.5% 83.2% 83.8% 9
1990s 84.7% 84.0% 85.3% 10
2000s 85.0% 84.6% 85.3% 10
2010s 85.1% 84.5% 86.2% 10
2020s 86.7% 86.4% 86.9% 6

Countries ranked near Zimbabwe

  1. 113 Venezuela 88.0% compare
  2. 114 Togo 87.8% compare
  3. 115 Guatemala 87.0% compare
  4. 117 Namibia 86.3% compare
  5. 118 Comoros 86.1% compare
  6. 119 Morocco 84.6% compare

See the full ranking of 165 places →

More education data for Zimbabwe

All data for Zimbabwe →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children who have completed primary school in Zimbabwe?
Share of children who have completed primary school in Zimbabwe was 86.9% 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 Zimbabwe?
The highest recorded value was 86.9% in 2025.
What is the lowest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Zimbabwe?
The lowest recorded value was 83.2% in 1981.
How does Zimbabwe rank for share of children who have completed primary school?
Zimbabwe ranks 116th out of 165 countries with data for 2025.
Is share of children who have completed primary school rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
Over the last ten years it is up 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Zimbabwe 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.