Share of the population with lower secondary education in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Share of the population with lower secondary education was 82.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of the population with lower secondary education in Sri Lanka, 1981–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 82.7% for share of the population with lower secondary education in 2024.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 1.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with lower secondary education in Sri Lanka peaked at 84.1% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 34.2%, in 1981.
Sri Lanka ranks 58th of 135 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Share of the population with lower secondary education in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 34.2% | — |
| 2001 | 74.8% | +118.4% |
| 2006 | 74.3% | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 73.2% | -1.4% |
| 2008 | 73.9% | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 74.0% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 81.6% | +10.2% |
| 2017 | 82.3% | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 82.9% | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 81.0% | -2.2% |
| 2020 | 84.1% | +3.8% |
| 2021 | 81.8% | -2.7% |
| 2022 | 82.0% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 82.4% | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 82.7% | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 34.2% | 34.2% | 34.2% | 1 |
| 2000s | 74.1% | 73.2% | 74.8% | 5 |
| 2010s | 81.9% | 81.0% | 82.9% | 4 |
| 2020s | 82.6% | 81.8% | 84.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More education data for Sri Lanka
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 2.54 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth -0.4555 % change on previous year (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 73,333 (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 2.32 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.29 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate -0.5206 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.25 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate -0.3876 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 439,099 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 1.72 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with lower secondary education in Sri Lanka?
- Share of the population with lower secondary education in Sri Lanka was 82.7% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population with lower secondary education recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 84.1% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with lower secondary education recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 34.2% in 1981.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for share of the population with lower secondary education?
- Sri Lanka ranks 58th out of 135 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of the population with lower secondary education rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.3%. 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 the population with lower secondary education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of adults aged 25 and older who have completed lower secondary education or higher.