Burundi: Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2019, Burundi's persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) rose 6.62 percentage points on 2018 (from 53.28% to 59.9%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1975 to 2018), the average change was −0.22 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 8.93 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 34.89 percentage points in 1973 and the biggest yearly fall was 19.4 percentage points in 1978. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2010 to 2019 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 7% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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

Closest to Burundi in the 2019 ranking

• Tanzania — 4th of 8: 84.48%
• Cambodia — 5th of 8: 84.07%
• Lao PDR — 6th of 8: 82.05%
• Mozambique — 8th of 8: 56.43%

What this measures

Persistence to grade 5 (percentage of cohort reaching grade 5) is the share of children enrolled in the first grade of primary school who eventually reach grade 5. The estimate is based on the reconstructed cohort method.

Limitations: The estimates have limitations in capturing real trend in that an observed rate will be applied to the underlying indicators such as repetition rate and promotion rate throughout the cohort life, and re-entrants, grade skipping, migration or transfers during a school year are not adequately captured.

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

All 38 values

Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) in nearby economies

• Benin — 62.67% (2021)
• Burkina Faso — 43.4% (2022)
• Cabo Verde — 95.73% (2021)
• Cameroon — 74.47% (2023)
• Chad — 78.6% (2017)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 76.94% (2020)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 68.04% (2021)
• Eritrea — 79.98% (2017)
• Eswatini — 97.35% (2018)
• Ethiopia — 55.53% (2021)

More education data for Burundi

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 12 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 2.52 million (2025)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 100.63% (2025)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 101.6% (2025)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 99.67% (2025)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1.01 (2020)
• Primary education, pupils (% female)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Burundi's persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort)?

59.9% in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1972?

It is up 44.31 percentage points from 15.59% in 1972. The highest value was 86.3% in 1986 and the lowest 15.59% in 1972.

Is the latest change in persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) unusual for Burundi?

In 2019, Burundi's persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) rose 6.62 percentage points on 2018 (from 53.28% to 59.9%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1975 to 2018), the average change was −0.22 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 8.93 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.PRM.PRS5.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.

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