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

Key figures

Since 1991 it is up 21.37 percentage points from 52.18% in 1991. The World Bank has no value for 15 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Nepal in the 2016 ranking

• Oman — 1st of 6: 98.46%
• São Tomé and Principe — 2nd of 6: 95.52%
• Peru — 3rd of 6: 94.52%
• Mauritania — 5th of 6: 70.66%
• Uganda — 6th of 6: 61.12%

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 11 values

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

• Bhutan — 89.54% (2017)
• India — 74.19% (2023)
• Maldives — 93.09% (2023)
• Sri Lanka — 97.92% (2022)

More education data for Nepal

• Primary education, pupils — 3.57 million (2025)
• Primary education, teachers — 157,456 (2025)
• Secondary education, pupils — 3.67 million (2024)
• Primary school starting age (years) — 5 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 5 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 10 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils (% female) — 50.61% (2019)
• Pupil-teacher ratio, primary — 19.74 (2019)
• Secondary education, teachers — 124,257 (2025)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross)

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Questions people ask

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

73.55% in 2016, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1991?

It is up 21.37 percentage points from 52.18% in 1991. The highest value was 76.85% in 2015 and the lowest 52.18% in 1991.

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.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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