Tanzania: Persistence to last grade of primary, male (% of cohort)

Key figures

Since 1974 it is down 18.52 percentage points from 93.14% in 1974. The World Bank has no value for 17 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2019, Tanzania's persistence to last grade of primary, male (% of cohort) fell 7.78 percentage points on 2018 (from 82.39% to 74.62%).

Across the 19 yearly changes before that (1981 to 2018), the average change was +0.48 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 7.6 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 20.66 percentage points in 2001 and the biggest yearly fall was 8.6 percentage points in 1986. 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 2019, Tanzania had the 8th highest value of the 10 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 Tanzania in the 2019 ranking

• Zimbabwe — 5th of 10: 84.42%
• Lao PDR — 6th of 10: 79.82%
• Cambodia — 7th of 10: 75.26%
• Burundi — 9th of 10: 45.73%
• Mozambique — 10th of 10: 43.47%

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 29 values

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

• Benin — 53.9% (2021)
• Burkina Faso — 26.53% (2022)
• Burundi — 45.73% (2019)
• Cabo Verde — 94.62% (2021)
• Cameroon — 60.99% (2023)
• Chad — 71.52% (2017)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 72.63% (2020)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 63.8% (2021)
• Eritrea — 80.15% (2017)

More education data for Tanzania

• Primary school starting age (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 14 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 11.39 million (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 92.69% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 95.33% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 90.09% (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 229,840 (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI)

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 Tanzania's persistence to last grade of primary, male (% of cohort)?

74.62% in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1974?

It is down 18.52 percentage points from 93.14% in 1974. The highest value was 93.14% in 1974 and the lowest 57.84% in 2012.

How does Tanzania rank?

8th highest of 10 economies with data for 2019.

Is the latest change in persistence to last grade of primary, male (% of cohort) unusual for Tanzania?

In 2019, Tanzania's persistence to last grade of primary, male (% of cohort) fell 7.78 percentage points on 2018 (from 82.39% to 74.62%). Across the 19 yearly changes before that (1981 to 2018), the average change was +0.48 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 7.6 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.PRM.PRSL.MA.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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