Sri Lanka: Primary education, pupils (% female)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, Sri Lanka's primary education, pupils (% female) rose 0 percentage points on 2017 (from 49.23% to 49.23%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1983 to 2017), the average change was +0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.47 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 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 2.22 percentage points in 1971 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.72 percentage points in 2005. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2009 to 2018 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 25% of the movement over 10 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 2018, Sri Lanka had the 22nd highest value of the 88 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 Sri Lanka in the 2018 ranking

• St. Vincent and the Grenadines — 19th of 88: 49.35%
• Ecuador — 20th of 88: 49.32%
• Bhutan — 21st of 88: 49.28%
• Namibia — 23rd of 88: 49.22%
• Antigua and Barbuda — 24th of 88: 49.2%
• Peru — 25th of 88: 49.1%

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 42 values

Primary education, pupils (% female) in nearby economies

• Bangladesh — 50.75% (2018)
• Bhutan — 49.28% (2018)
• India — 50.88% (2017)
• Maldives — 48.78% (2017)
• Nepal — 50.61% (2019)

More education data for Sri Lanka

• 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) — 8 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 1.58 million (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 91.45% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 92.09% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 90.84% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1 (2020)
• Secondary education, general pupils

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 Sri Lanka's primary education, pupils (% female)?

49.23% in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 2.15 percentage points from 47.08% in 1970. The highest value was 50.79% in 2004 and the lowest 47.08% in 1970.

How does Sri Lanka rank?

22nd highest of 88 economies with data for 2018.

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

In 2018, Sri Lanka's primary education, pupils (% female) rose 0 percentage points on 2017 (from 49.23% to 49.23%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1983 to 2017), the average change was +0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.47 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 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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