Singapore: Repeaters, primary, female (% of female enrollment)

Key figures

Since 1972 it is down 6.17 percentage points from 6.31% in 1972. 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, Singapore's repeaters, primary, female (% of female enrollment) fell 0.02 percentage points on 2016 (from 0.16% to 0.14%).

Across the 12 yearly changes before that (1973 to 2016), the average change was −0.11 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.57 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations above 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 8.98 percentage points in 1977 and the biggest yearly fall was 6.76 percentage points in 1978. 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, Singapore had the 42nd highest value of the 48 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 Singapore in the 2017 ranking

• Estonia — 39th of 48: 0.35%
• Italy — 40th of 48: 0.28%
• Finland — 41st of 48: 0.17%
• Cyprus — 43rd of 48: 0.13%
• Croatia — 44th of 48: 0.1%
• Bulgaria — 45th of 48: 0.07%

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 17 values

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

• Brunei Darussalam — 0.05% (2018)
• Cambodia — 4.98% (2018)
• China — 0.00571% (2018)
• Fiji — 0.38% (2016)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 0.37% (2018)
• Indonesia — 0.99% (2018)
• Kiribati — 2.08% (2016)
• Korea, Rep. — 0.00285% (2017)
• Lao PDR — 3.37% (2018)
• Macao SAR, China

More education data for Singapore

• 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) — 4 (2025)
• Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP) — 2.19% (2024)
• Preprimary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 238,816 (2023)
• Primary education, teachers — 16,639 (2023)
• Secondary education, pupils — 163,746 (2023)
• Primary education, teachers (% female) — 80.55% (2023)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Singapore's repeaters, primary, female (% of female enrollment)?

0.14% in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1972?

It is down 6.17 percentage points from 6.31% in 1972. The highest value was 16.38% in 1977 and the lowest 0.14% in 2017.

How does Singapore rank?

42nd highest of 48 economies with data for 2017.

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

In 2017, Singapore's repeaters, primary, female (% of female enrollment) fell 0.02 percentage points on 2016 (from 0.16% to 0.14%). Across the 12 yearly changes before that (1973 to 2016), the average change was −0.11 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.57 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations above 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.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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