Botswana: Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group)

Key figures

Since 1970 it is up 56.67 percentage points from 44.86% in 1970. 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 13.06 percentage points in 1979 and the biggest yearly fall was 8.74 percentage points in 1983. 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 2nd highest value of the 12 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

• Antigua and Barbuda — 1st of 12: 123.36%
• Cabo Verde — 3rd of 12: 99.1%
• Colombia — 4th of 12: 97.12%
• Serbia — 5th of 12: 96.05%

What this measures

Primary completion rate, or gross intake ratio to the last grade of primary education, is the number of new entrants (enrollments minus repeaters) in the last grade of primary education, regardless of age, divided by the population at the entrance age for the last grade of primary education. Data limitations preclude adjusting for students who drop out during the final year of primary education.

Limitations: The data do not account for students who drop out during the final year of primary education. Therefore, this rate serves as a proxy and should be considered an upper estimate of the actual primary completion rate. There are many reasons why the primary completion rate can exceed 100 percent. The numerator may include late entrants and overage children who have repeated one or more grades of primary education as well as children who entered school early, while the denominator is the number of children at the entrance age for the last grade of primary education.

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

All 42 values

Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) in nearby economies

• Benin — 61.64% (2022)
• Burkina Faso — 51.99% (2024)
• Burundi — 47.61% (2020)
• Cabo Verde — 99.1% (2022)
• Cameroon — 75.29% (2024)
• Central African Republic — 38.48% (2016)
• Chad — 41.85% (2021)
• Comoros — 72.72% (2024)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 75.71% (2023)

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 primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group)?

101.53% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 56.67 percentage points from 44.86% in 1970. The highest value was 103.01% in 2009 and the lowest 44.86% in 1970.

How does Botswana rank?

2nd highest of 12 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.CMPT.ZS, 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.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.