Education · East Asia & Pacific · Upper-middle income
China: education in numbers
Pre-primary enrolment is 93.1% (2021), 49th of 176 in the world and 6th of 30 in East Asia & Pacific. Primary enrolment is 99.6% (2024), 102nd of 191 in the world and 18th of 30 in East Asia & Pacific. Primary completion is 103.5% (2010).
Pre-primary enrolment
ChinaEast Asia & PacificUpper-middle incomeWorld
Primary enrolment
ChinaEast Asia & PacificUpper-middle incomeWorld
11 indicators
Education: China in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within East Asia & Pacific; 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 | 93.1%2021 | 49/176 | 6/30 | 44.9% | 53.7% | 90.5% | +33.1 ppsince 2011 | 83.2% | 77.9% | 60.9% | |
| Primary enrolmentPrimary school enrolment, % gross | 99.6%2024 | 102/191 | 18/30 | 115.7%2001 | 104.2% | 98.8% | +2.7 ppsince 2014 | 100.0% | 100.7% | 102.2% | |
| Primary completionPrimary completion rate, % of age group | 103.5%2010 | — | — | · | 103.5% | · | +10.0 ppsince 1997 | 95.4% | 95.2% | 88.0% | |
| Secondary enrolmentSecondary school enrolment, % gross | 92.3%2012 | — | — | 59.5% | 90.8% | · | +29.4 ppsince 2002 | 92.0% | 96.5% | 77.3% | |
| Lower secondary completionLower secondary completion rate, % of age group | 103.6%2012 | — | — | · | 101.2% | · | +38.7 ppsince 1997 | 97.3% | 93.0% | 77.9% | |
| Tertiary enrolmentTertiary enrolment, % gross | 76.9%2024 | 38/172 | 7/27 | 7.6% | 25.3% | 61.6% | +33.2 ppsince 2014 | 63.3% | 64.6% | 43.6% | |
| Adult literacyAdult literacy rate, % of people 15+ | 96.7%2020 | 48/141 | 9/23 | 90.9% | 95.1% | 96.7% | +1.6 ppsince 2010 | 96.6% | 96.2% | 87.7% | |
| Youth literacyYouth literacy rate, % of people 15–24 | 99.8%2020 | 27/148 | 6/23 | 98.9% | 99.6% | 99.8% | +0.1 ppsince 2010 | 99.1% | 99.3% | 93.1% | |
| Pupils per teacherPupils per teacher, primary | 16.42018 | 100/173 | 18/27 | 22.22001 | 16.8 | 16.42018 | −6.4%since 2008 | 17.5 | 18.4 | 23.4 | |
| Education spendingPublic spending on education, % of GDP | 3.9%2023 | 105/184 | 17/29 | 1.9%1999 | · | · | +2.0 ppsince 1999 | 3.5% | 3.6% | 3.6% | |
| Education, % of budgetEducation spending, % of government expenditure | 11.9%2023 | 108/179 | 18/28 | 12.6%1999 | · | · | −0.7 ppsince 1999 | 13.0% | 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
- Pre-primary enrolment+33.1 pp93.1% in 2021
- Primary completion+10.0 pp103.5% in 2010
- Secondary enrolment+29.4 pp92.3% in 2012
- Lower secondary completion+38.7 pp103.6% in 2012
Worse than ten years ago
No rated indicator got worse over the decade.
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
neighbours
China and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with China. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | China | India | Pakistan | Russia | Japan | Vietnam |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolment | 93.1%2021 | 51.7%2021 | 82.6%2019 | 86.0%2019 | 86.7%2015 | 92.4%2021 |
| Primary enrolment | 99.6%2024 | 111.0%2025 | 83.7%2024 | 97.7%2023 | 101.1%2023 | 106.3%2024 |
| Primary completion | 103.5%2010 | 90.3%2025 | 74.1%2024 | 100.0%2019 | — | 100.6%2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 92.3%2012 | 79.6%2025 | 48.3%2024 | 92.5%2023 | 101.5%2023 | 93.4%2022 |
| Lower secondary completion | 103.6%2012 | 88.0%2025 | 55.8%2024 | 97.0%2019 | — | 95.2%2024 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 76.9%2024 | 34.4%2025 | 10.9%2024 | 60.4%2024 | 64.5%2023 | 37.6%2024 |
| Adult literacy | 96.7%2020 | 78.2%2024 | 58.9%2021 | 99.9%2021 | — | 96.1%2022 |
| Youth literacy | 99.8%2020 | 97.3%2024 | 73.1%2021 | 99.9%2021 | — | 99.1%2022 |
| Pupils per teacher | 16.42018 | 32.72017 | 44.12018 | 21.32017 | 15.72017 | 20.32018 |