Nepal: School enrollment, primary (% net)

Key figures

Over five years it is down 2.49 percentage points from 98.79% in 2014. Since 1983 it is up 37.36 percentage points from 58.94% in 1983. The World Bank has no value for 23 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 2019 ranking

• Kazakhstan — 2nd of 4: 86.86%
• Ghana — 3rd of 4: 86.16%
• Djibouti — 4th of 4: 66.48%

What this measures

Net enrollment rate is the ratio of children of official school age who are enrolled in school to the population of the corresponding official school age. Primary education provides children with basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills along with an elementary understanding of such subjects as history, geography, natural science, social science, art, and music.

Limitations: Enrollment indicators are based on annual school surveys, but do not necessarily reflect actual attendance or dropout rates during the year. Also, the length of education differs across countries and can influence enrollment rates, although the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) tries to minimize the difference. For example, a shorter duration for primary education tends to increase the rate; a longer one to decrease it (in part because older children are more at risk of dropping out). Moreover, age at enrollment may be inaccurately estimated or misstated, especially in communities where registration of births is not strictly enforced.

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

All 14 values

School enrollment, primary (% net) in nearby economies

• Bhutan — 88.03% (2018)
• Maldives — 95.42% (2017)
• Sri Lanka — 99.11% (2018)

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 school enrollment, primary (% net)?

96.3% in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1983?

It is up 37.36 percentage points from 58.94% in 1983. The highest value was 99.71% in 2012 and the lowest 58.94% in 1983.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, 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).

Source

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