Bahrain: education in numbers
Pre-primary enrolment is 52.6% (2020), 109th of 176 in the world and 9th of 15 in the Middle East & North Africa. Primary enrolment is 96.9% (2024), 130th of 191 in the world and 12th of 19 in the Middle East & North Africa. Primary completion is 94.1% (2024), 90th of 168 in the world and 11th of 19 in the Middle East & North Africa.
Education: Bahrain in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.
| Indicator | Latest | World rank | In region | ~2000 | ~2010 | ~2020 | 10-year change | Region | Income group | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolmentPre-primary enrolment, % gross | 52.6%2020 | 109/176 | 9/15 | 34.1% | 50.4% | 52.6% | +2.2 ppsince 2010 | 33.8% | 83.8% | 60.9% | |
| Primary enrolmentPrimary school enrolment, % gross | 96.9%2024 | 130/191 | 12/19 | 98.9% | 96.1%2011 | 96.8%2019 | −7.5 ppsince 2014 | 94.6% | 99.8% | 102.2% | |
| Primary completionPrimary completion rate, % of age group | 94.1%2024 | 90/168 | 11/19 | 91.0% | 93.2%2011 | 97.6%2019 | −8.1 ppsince 2014 | 83.7% | 97.8% | 88.0% | |
| Secondary enrolmentSecondary school enrolment, % gross | 98.8%2024 | 65/176 | 6/17 | 91.4% | 90.2% | 102.1%2019 | −5.4 ppsince 2014 | 65.8% | 103.2% | 77.3% | |
| Lower secondary completionLower secondary completion rate, % of age group | 99.8%2024 | 26/168 | 3/19 | 86.0% | 88.4% | 101.3%2019 | −1.4 ppsince 2014 | 66.7% | 95.6% | 77.9% | |
| Tertiary enrolmentTertiary enrolment, % gross | 58.4%2024 | 66/172 | 5/19 | 19.3%1999 | 46.3%2011 | 54.4% | +13.6 ppsince 2014 | 29.7% | 82.0% | 43.6% | |
| Out-of-school childrenChildren out of school, % of primary school age | 4.7%2024 | 76/178 | 6/17 | 7.1% | 6.4%2011 | 3.0%2019 | +4.2 ppsince 2014 | — | 2.5% | — | |
| Adult literacyAdult literacy rate, % of people 15+ | 97.8%2024 | 37/141 | 4/18 | 86.6%2001 | · | 97.9%2022 | +11.3 ppsince 2001 | 75.6% | 97.7% | 87.7% | |
| Youth literacyYouth literacy rate, % of people 15–24 | 99.5%2024 | 38/148 | 4/19 | 97.0%2001 | · | 99.2%2022 | +2.5 ppsince 2001 | 86.9% | 99.3% | 93.1% | |
| Pupils per teacherPupils per teacher, primary | 11.92018 | 145/173 | 18/20 | · | 12.12011 | 11.92018 | −42%since 1995 | 21.3 | 14.0 | 23.4 | |
| Education spendingPublic spending on education, % of GDP | 1.9%2023 | 170/184 | 15/16 | · | 2.4% | 2.1% | −0.5 ppsince 2013 | 4.4% | 4.7% | 3.6% | |
| Education, % of budgetEducation spending, % of government expenditure | 8.3%2025 | 162/179 | 15/15 | · | 8.6% | 7.1% | +1.0 ppsince 2015 | 13.1% | 12.0% | 14.0% |
Better than ten years ago
- Pre-primary enrolment+2.2 pp52.6% in 2020
- Tertiary enrolment+13.6 pp58.4% in 2024
- Adult literacy+11.3 pp97.8% in 2024
- Youth literacy+2.5 pp99.5% in 2024
Worse than ten years ago
- Primary completion−8.1 pp94.1% in 2024
- Secondary enrolment−5.4 pp98.8% in 2024
- Lower secondary completion−1.4 pp99.8% in 2024
- Out-of-school children+4.2 pp4.7% in 2024
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
Bahrain and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Bahrain. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Bahrain | Iran | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolment | 52.6%2020 | 72.5%2020 | 18.3%2021 |
| Primary enrolment | 96.9%2024 | 102.0%2023 | 104.0%2024 |
| Primary completion | 94.1%2024 | 97.4%2023 | 99.4%2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 98.8%2024 | 85.1%2023 | 110.7%2024 |
| Lower secondary completion | 99.8%2024 | 85.2%2023 | 103.5%2024 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 58.4%2024 | 58.7%2022 | 83.9%2024 |
| Out-of-school children | 4.7%2024 | 0.1%2023 | 0.5%2024 |
| Adult literacy | 97.8%2024 | 88.9%2023 | 97.9%2024 |
| Youth literacy | 99.5%2024 | 98.7%2023 | 99.9%2024 |