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

Key figures

Over five years it is up 3.42 percentage points from 93.93% in 2013. Since 1970 it is up 31.22 percentage points from 66.13% in 1970. The World Bank has no value for 3 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2018, Eswatini's persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) rose 0.27 percentage points on 2017 (from 97.08% to 97.35%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1983 to 2017), the average change was −0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.73 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 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 10.83 percentage points in 1971 and the biggest yearly fall was 13.84 percentage points in 2010. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2009 to 2018 the straight-line trend is upward, about 1.09 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 40% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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

Closest to Eswatini in the 2018 ranking

• Poland — 1st of 8: 99.57%
• Timor-Leste — 3rd of 8: 93.27%
• Solomon Islands — 4th of 8: 82.38%
• United Arab Emirates — 5th of 8: 80.87%

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 46 values

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

• Benin — 62.67% (2021)
• Burkina Faso — 43.4% (2022)
• Burundi — 59.9% (2019)
• 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)
• Ethiopia — 55.53% (2021)

More education data for Eswatini

• 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)
• Primary completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) — 95.27% (2023)
• Primary completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) — 91.97% (2023)
• Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) — 93.61% (2023)
• Primary education, pupils — 222,351 (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 116.53% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross)

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Questions people ask

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

97.35% in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 31.22 percentage points from 66.13% in 1970. The highest value was 97.35% in 2018 and the lowest 66.13% in 1970.

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

In 2018, Eswatini's persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) rose 0.27 percentage points on 2017 (from 97.08% to 97.35%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1983 to 2017), the average change was −0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.73 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 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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