Botswana: Children out of school, primary

Key figures

Since 1970 it is down 96.91% from 60,464 in 1970 (6.47% a year on average, compounded). The World Bank has no value for 11 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 92.8% in 1995 and the biggest yearly fall was 26.8% in 1981. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2022, Botswana had the 11th highest value of the 11 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Botswana in the 2022 ranking

• Cabo Verde — 7th of 11: 24,851
• Ireland — 8th of 11: 10,313
• Eswatini — 9th of 11: 7,275
• Tonga — 11th of 11: 354.15

What this measures

Children out of school are the number of primary-school-age children not enrolled in primary or secondary school.

Limitations: Due to different data sources for enrollment and population data, the number may not capture the actual number of children not attending in primary school.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.

All 42 values

Children out of school, primary in nearby economies

• Benin — 213,285 (2022)
• Burkina Faso — 1.36 million (2024)
• Burundi — 661,724 (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 24,851 (2022)
• Cameroon — 173,924 (2024)
• Chad — 855,041 (2024)
• Comoros — 21,743 (2024)
• Congo, Rep. — 171,125 (2023)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 650,800 (2024)
• Equatorial Guinea — 128,846 (2015)
• Eritrea — 179,166 (2022)

More education data for Botswana

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 13 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 5 (2025)
• School enrollment, tertiary (% gross) — 21.41% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 0.98 (2021)
• Primary education, pupils — 381,674 (2022)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 109.27% (2022)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 108.22% (2022)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Botswana's children out of school, primary?

1,869 in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is down 96.91% from 60,464 in 1970 (6.47% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 64,402 in 1971 and the lowest 1,869 in 2022.

How does Botswana rank?

11th highest of 11 economies with data for 2022.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API..

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.PRM.UNER, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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