North Macedonia: Persistence to last grade of primary, total (% of cohort)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, North Macedonia's persistence to last grade of primary, total (% of cohort) fell 0.85 percentage points on 2021 (from 93.89% to 93.04%).

Across the 19 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2021), the average change was −0.24 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.94 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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 5.4 percentage points in 2019 and the biggest yearly fall was 9.09 percentage points in 2018. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2013 to 2022 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 24% of the movement over 8 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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

How it compares

In 2022, North Macedonia had the 16th highest value of the 23 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 North Macedonia in the 2022 ranking

• South Africa — 12th of 23: 95.38%
• Barbados — 13th of 23: 94.69%
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 14th of 23: 94.67%
• Lebanon — 16th of 23: 92.7%
• Uruguay — 17th of 23: 88.84%
• Djibouti — 18th of 23: 72.68%

What this measures

Persistence to last grade of primary is the percentage of children enrolled in the first grade of primary school who eventually reach the last grade of primary education. 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 23 values

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

• Albania — 86.65% (2023)
• Armenia — 98.48% (2022)
• Austria — 99.54% (2023)
• Azerbaijan — 99.34% (2023)
• Belarus — 97.86% (2023)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 95.72% (2022)
• Bulgaria — 99.81% (2023)
• Croatia — 99.72% (2022)
• Cyprus — 97.88% (2021)

More education data for North Macedonia

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 5 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 11 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 8 (2025)
• School enrollment, tertiary (% gross) — 55.01% (2023)
• School enrollment, tertiary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1.3 (2023)
• School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) — 64.97% (2023)
• School enrollment, tertiary, male (% gross) — 45.52% (2023)
• Tertiary education, academic staff (% female) — 50.09% (2023)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is North Macedonia's persistence to last grade of primary, total (% of cohort)?

93.04% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1993?

It is down 4.81 percentage points from 97.85% in 1993. The highest value was 98.65% in 1995 and the lowest 89.26% in 2018.

How does North Macedonia rank?

16th highest of 23 economies with data for 2022.

Is the latest change in persistence to last grade of primary, total (% of cohort) unusual for North Macedonia?

In 2022, North Macedonia's persistence to last grade of primary, total (% of cohort) fell 0.85 percentage points on 2021 (from 93.89% to 93.04%). Across the 19 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2021), the average change was −0.24 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.94 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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.PRSL.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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