Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school was 45.0% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Sri Lanka, 2010–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 45.0% for share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in 2023. That is the highest value across all 14 years on record.
The figure is up 2.5% on the previous year and up 36.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Sri Lanka peaked at 45.0% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 29.1%, in 2010.
That places Sri Lanka 121st out of 178 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 29.1% | — |
| 2011 | 29.8% | +2.5% |
| 2012 | 32.8% | +10.2% |
| 2013 | 33.0% | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 30.4% | -7.8% |
| 2015 | 40.6% | +33.3% |
| 2016 | 40.9% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 34.2% | -16.4% |
| 2018 | 33.1% | -3.3% |
| 2019 | 34.4% | +4.1% |
| 2020 | 35.4% | +2.8% |
| 2021 | 40.9% | +15.6% |
| 2022 | 43.9% | +7.4% |
| 2023 | 45.0% | +2.5% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 45.0% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 67.3%, 67% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 45.0% is below the median for South Asia, which is 49.2%, 91% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 33.8% | 29.1% | 40.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 41.3% | 35.4% | 45.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More education data for Sri Lanka
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 155,543 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 224,799 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 214,300 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.54 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.58 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.89 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0715 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Sri Lanka?
- Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Sri Lanka was 45.0% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children enrolled in pre-primary school recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 45.0% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of children enrolled in pre-primary school recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.1% in 2010.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for share of children enrolled in pre-primary school?
- Sri Lanka ranks 121st out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of children enrolled in pre-primary school rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 36.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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 enrolled in pre-primary school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of children of pre-primary school age (typically 3–5 years old) who are enrolled in pre-primary education.