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Education · Latin America & Caribbean · Upper-middle income
El Salvador: education in numbers
Pre-primary enrolment is 65.3% (2014). Primary enrolment is 89.9% (2024), 164th of 191 in the world and 33rd of 39 in Latin America & Caribbean. Primary completion is 82.6% (2024), 131st of 168 in the world and 29th of 33 in Latin America & Caribbean.
Pre-primary enrolment
El SalvadorLatin America & CaribbeanUpper-middle incomeWorld
Primary enrolment
El SalvadorLatin America & CaribbeanUpper-middle incomeWorld
12 indicators
Education: El Salvador 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 | 65.3%2014 | — | — | 44.2% | 62.4% | · | +9.2 ppsince 2004 | 75.6% | 77.9% | 60.9% | |
| Primary enrolmentPrimary school enrolment, % gross | 89.9%2024 | 164/191 | 33/39 | 107.4% | 111.7% | 90.7% | −16.4 ppsince 2014 | 104.6% | 100.7% | 102.2% | |
| Primary completionPrimary completion rate, % of age group | 82.6%2024 | 131/168 | 29/33 | 86.1% | 98.2% | 82.4% | −12.1 ppsince 2014 | 96.5% | 95.2% | 88.0% | |
| Secondary enrolmentSecondary school enrolment, % gross | 62.1%2024 | 146/176 | 35/37 | 54.8% | 68.1% | 65.2% | −9.2 ppsince 2014 | 98.0% | 96.5% | 77.3% | |
| Lower secondary completionLower secondary completion rate, % of age group | 72.7%2024 | 124/168 | 28/32 | 61.3%2001 | 75.8% | 72.0% | −3.6 ppsince 2014 | 81.5% | 93.0% | 77.9% | |
| Tertiary enrolmentTertiary enrolment, % gross | 32.8%2024 | 109/172 | 18/31 | 19.8% | 26.3% | 31.0% | +5.3 ppsince 2014 | 58.9% | 64.6% | 43.6% | |
| Out-of-school childrenChildren out of school, % of primary school age | 8.7%2024 | 51/178 | 12/35 | 11.3% | · | 14.8% | +2.3 ppsince 2014 | — | 4.0% | — | |
| Adult literacyAdult literacy rate, % of people 15+ | 89.8%2024 | 84/141 | 20/26 | · | 84.5% | 90.0% | +2.4 ppsince 2014 | 94.9% | 96.2% | 87.7% | |
| Youth literacyYouth literacy rate, % of people 15–24 | 98.2%2024 | 73/148 | 20/31 | 92.4% | 96.0% | 98.5% | +0.4 ppsince 2014 | 98.7% | 99.3% | 93.1% | |
| Pupils per teacherPupils per teacher, primary | 26.92018 | 47/173 | 1/30 | · | 29.32011 | 26.92018 | −18%since 2008 | 21.3 | 18.4 | 23.4 | |
| Education spendingPublic spending on education, % of GDP | 3.3%2024 | 127/184 | 27/38 | 2.8% | 4.0% | 3.7% | −0.5 ppsince 2014 | 3.8% | 3.6% | 3.6% | |
| Education, % of budgetEducation spending, % of government expenditure | 15.9%2025 | 48/179 | 14/37 | 13.5% | 15.8% | 11.2% | +1.5 ppsince 2015 | 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
- Pre-primary enrolment+9.2 pp65.3% in 2014
- Tertiary enrolment+5.3 pp32.8% in 2024
- Adult literacy+2.4 pp89.8% in 2024
- Youth literacy+0.4 pp98.2% in 2024
Worse than ten years ago
- Primary completion−12.1 pp82.6% in 2024
- Secondary enrolment−9.2 pp62.1% in 2024
- Lower secondary completion−3.6 pp72.7% in 2024
- Out-of-school children+2.3 pp8.7% 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
El Salvador and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with El Salvador. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | El Salvador | Guatemala | Honduras |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolment | 65.3%2014 | 49.8%2021 | 33.8%2021 |
| Primary enrolment | 89.9%2024 | 101.5%2024 | 79.0%2024 |
| Primary completion | 82.6%2024 | 86.5%2024 | 72.0%2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 62.1%2024 | 49.6%2024 | 51.8%2024 |
| Lower secondary completion | 72.7%2024 | 49.3%2024 | 36.6%2024 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 32.8%2024 | 27.3%2023 | 23.3%2024 |
| Out-of-school children | 8.7%2024 | 8.4%2024 | 26.6%2024 |
| Adult literacy | 89.8%2024 | 82.1%2024 | 88.2%2024 |
| Youth literacy | 98.2%2024 | 95.4%2024 | 95.8%2024 |