Kenya: Repeaters, primary, total (% of total enrollment)

Key figures

Since 1970 it is down 0.75 percentage points from 3.69% in 1970. The World Bank has no value for 31 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2016, Kenya's repeaters, primary, total (% of total enrollment) fell 0.48 percentage points on 2015 (from 3.42% to 2.94%).

Across the 11 yearly changes before that (1971 to 2015), the average change was +0.68 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.55 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 standard deviations below 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 4.41 percentage points in 1980 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.7 percentage points in 2015. 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 2016, Kenya had the 10th highest value of the 17 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 Kenya in the 2016 ranking

• Yemen, Rep. — 7th of 17: 5.88%
• Gambia, The — 8th of 17: 5.19%
• Uruguay — 9th of 17: 4.24%
• Dominica — 11th of 17: 2.87%
• Paraguay — 12th of 17: 2.86%
• Niger — 13th of 17: 2.51%

What this measures

Repeaters in primary school are the number of students enrolled in the same grade as in the previous year, as a percentage of all students enrolled in primary school.

Limitations: Country policies on repetition and promotion differ. In some cases the number of repeaters is controlled because of limited capacity. In other cases the number of repeaters is almost 0 because of automatic promotion – suggesting a system that is highly efficient but that may not be endowing students with enough cognitive skills.

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

All 16 values

Repeaters, primary, total (% of total enrollment) in nearby economies

• Benin — 15.11% (2018)
• Burkina Faso — 5.7% (2018)
• Burundi — 25.72% (2018)
• Cabo Verde — 7.75% (2018)
• Cameroon — 12.25% (2018)
• Central African Republic — 22.64% (2016)
• Chad — 16.82% (2016)
• Comoros — 15.95% (2018)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 9.87% (2015)
• Côte d'Ivoire

More education data for Kenya

• 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) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 8.04 million (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 98.25% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 96.63% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 99.85% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 0.97 (2019)
• Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Kenya's repeaters, primary, total (% of total enrollment)?

2.94% in 2016, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is down 0.75 percentage points from 3.69% in 1970. The highest value was 13.2% in 1981 and the lowest 2.94% in 2016.

How does Kenya rank?

10th highest of 17 economies with data for 2016.

Is the latest change in repeaters, primary, total (% of total enrollment) unusual for Kenya?

In 2016, Kenya's repeaters, primary, total (% of total enrollment) fell 0.48 percentage points on 2015 (from 3.42% to 2.94%). Across the 11 yearly changes before that (1971 to 2015), the average change was +0.68 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.55 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.PRM.REPT.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://uis.unesco.org/bdds, publisher: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) 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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