BZ
Education · Latin America & Caribbean · Upper-middle income
Belize: education in numbers
Pre-primary enrolment is 34.2% (2021), 133rd of 176 in the world and 30th of 33 in Latin America & Caribbean. Primary enrolment is 96.5% (2024), 135th of 191 in the world and 28th of 39 in Latin America & Caribbean. Primary completion is 94.2% (2024), 88th of 168 in the world and 17th of 33 in Latin America & Caribbean.
Pre-primary enrolment
BelizeLatin America & CaribbeanUpper-middle incomeWorld
Primary enrolment
BelizeLatin America & CaribbeanUpper-middle incomeWorld
12 indicators
Education: Belize in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within Latin America & Caribbean; 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 | 34.2%2021 | 133/176 | 30/33 | 25.9% | 42.5% | 46.6% | −9.3 ppsince 2011 | 75.6% | 77.9% | 60.9% | |
| Primary enrolmentPrimary school enrolment, % gross | 96.5%2024 | 135/191 | 28/39 | 117.0% | 112.9% | 112.3% | −16.3 ppsince 2014 | 104.6% | 100.7% | 102.2% | |
| Primary completionPrimary completion rate, % of age group | 94.2%2024 | 88/168 | 17/33 | 96.3% | 100.3% | 104.8% | −10.0 ppsince 2014 | 96.5% | 95.2% | 88.0% | |
| Secondary enrolmentSecondary school enrolment, % gross | 86.5%2024 | 114/176 | 25/37 | 67.7% | 75.6% | 86.2% | +6.1 ppsince 2014 | 98.0% | 96.5% | 77.3% | |
| Lower secondary completionLower secondary completion rate, % of age group | 79.1%2024 | 114/168 | 23/32 | 52.1% | 60.4% | 70.3% | +15.1 ppsince 2014 | 81.5% | 93.0% | 77.9% | |
| Tertiary enrolmentTertiary enrolment, % gross | 24.8%2024 | 119/172 | 25/31 | 15.2%2001 | 21.6% | 25.9% | +0.8 ppsince 2014 | 58.9% | 64.6% | 43.6% | |
| Out-of-school childrenChildren out of school, % of primary school age | 10.7%2024 | 42/178 | 10/35 | 2.5% | 1.5% | 0.6% | +10.2 ppsince 2014 | — | 4.0% | — | |
| Adult literacyAdult literacy rate, % of people 15+ | 87.9%2022 | 90/141 | 22/26 | 76.9% | · | 87.9%2022 | +11.0 ppsince 2000 | 94.9% | 96.2% | 87.7% | |
| Youth literacyYouth literacy rate, % of people 15–24 | 96.2%2022 | 88/148 | 23/31 | 84.2% | · | 96.2%2022 | +11.9 ppsince 2000 | 98.7% | 99.3% | 93.1% | |
| Pupils per teacherPupils per teacher, primary | 19.82018 | 80/173 | 10/30 | 23.3 | 22.2 | 19.82018 | −13%since 2008 | 21.3 | 18.4 | 23.4 | |
| Education spendingPublic spending on education, % of GDP | 4.6%2024 | 72/184 | 14/38 | 3.7% | 5.2% | 5.2% | −0.5 ppsince 2014 | 3.8% | 3.6% | 3.6% | |
| Education, % of budgetEducation spending, % of government expenditure | 18.9%2024 | 26/179 | 6/37 | 15.6% | 22.6% | 19.0% | −2.7 ppsince 2014 | 16.6% | 15.1% | 14.0% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)“·” — no value reported within two years of that date. World rank counts countries with a recent value.
Better than ten years ago
- Secondary enrolment+6.1 pp86.5% in 2024
- Lower secondary completion+15.1 pp79.1% in 2024
- Tertiary enrolment+0.8 pp24.8% in 2024
- Adult literacy+11.0 pp87.9% in 2022
Worse than ten years ago
- Pre-primary enrolment−9.3 pp34.2% in 2021
- Primary completion−10.0 pp94.2% in 2024
- Out-of-school children+10.2 pp10.7% in 2024
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
neighbours
Belize and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Belize. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Belize | Mexico | Guatemala |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolment | 34.2%2021 | 70.6%2020 | 49.8%2021 |
| Primary enrolment | 96.5%2024 | 102.3%2024 | 101.5%2024 |
| Primary completion | 94.2%2024 | 102.3%2024 | 86.5%2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 86.5%2024 | 103.1%2024 | 49.6%2024 |
| Lower secondary completion | 79.1%2024 | 86.6%2024 | 49.3%2024 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 24.8%2024 | 48.2%2024 | 27.3%2023 |
| Out-of-school children | 10.7%2024 | 0.4%2024 | 8.4%2024 |
| Adult literacy | 87.9%2022 | 95.6%2024 | 82.1%2024 |
| Youth literacy | 96.2%2022 | 98.9%2024 | 95.4%2024 |