Liberia: Primary education, pupils (% female)

Key figures

Since 1970 it is up 18.71 percentage points from 30.15% in 1970. The World Bank has no value for 29 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2017, Liberia's primary education, pupils (% female) fell 0.07 percentage points on 2016 (from 48.93% to 48.86%).

Across the 10 yearly changes before that (1971 to 2016), the average change was +0.54 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.54 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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 3.4 percentage points in 1999 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.47 percentage points in 1980. 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 2017, Liberia had the 19th highest value of the 68 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 Liberia in the 2017 ranking

• Lesotho — 15th of 68: 48.88%
• Belgium — 16th of 68: 48.87%
• Israel — 17th of 68: 48.86%
• Luxembourg — 19th of 68: 48.84%
• Lithuania — 20th of 68: 48.84%
• Czechia — 21st of 68: 48.82%

What this measures

Female pupils as a percentage of total pupils at primary level include enrollments in public and private schools.

Limitations: The percentage of female enrollment is limited in assessing gender parity, because it's affected by the gender composition of population. Ratio of female to male in enrollment rate provides a population adjusted measure of gender parity.

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

All 19 values

Primary education, pupils (% female) in nearby economies

• Angola — 46.86% (2015)
• Benin — 47.67% (2018)
• Botswana — 48.86% (2015)
• Burkina Faso — 48.72% (2018)
• Burundi — 50.12% (2018)
• Cabo Verde — 47.8% (2018)
• Cameroon — 47.01% (2018)
• Central African Republic — 43.61% (2016)
• Chad — 43.36% (2016)
• Comoros — 49.08% (2018)
• Congo, Dem. Rep.

More education data for Liberia

• 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)
• Preprimary education, duration (years) — 3 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 569,741 (2022)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 66.59% (2022)
• Compulsory education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 67.42% (2022)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 65.79% (2022)

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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Questions people ask

What is Liberia's primary education, pupils (% female)?

48.86% in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 18.71 percentage points from 30.15% in 1970. The highest value was 48.93% in 2016 and the lowest 30.15% in 1970.

How does Liberia rank?

19th highest of 68 economies with data for 2017.

Is the latest change in primary education, pupils (% female) unusual for Liberia?

In 2017, Liberia's primary education, pupils (% female) fell 0.07 percentage points on 2016 (from 48.93% to 48.86%). Across the 10 yearly changes before that (1971 to 2016), the average change was +0.54 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.54 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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.ENRL.FE.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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