Education · Sub-Saharan Africa · Lower-middle income
Eswatini: education in numbers
Pre-primary enrolment is 30.0% (2014). Primary enrolment is 116.5% (2023), 17th of 191 in the world and 8th of 41 in Sub-Saharan Africa. Primary completion is 93.6% (2023), 96th of 168 in the world and 7th of 36 in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Primary enrolment
EswatiniSub-Saharan AfricaLower-middle incomeWorld
Primary completion
EswatiniSub-Saharan AfricaLower-middle incomeWorld
12 indicators
Education: Eswatini in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within Sub-Saharan Africa; 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 | 30.0%2014 | — | — | · | 24.1% | · | — | 28.1% | 58.5% | 60.9% | |
| Primary enrolmentPrimary school enrolment, % gross | 116.5%2023 | 17/191 | 8/41 | 98.6% | 123.2% | 123.6%2019 | −6.4 ppsince 2013 | 97.1% | 105.4% | 102.2% | |
| Primary completionPrimary completion rate, % of age group | 93.6%2023 | 96/168 | 7/36 | 65.5% | 83.5% | 96.6%2019 | +10.0 ppsince 2013 | 68.9% | 88.0% | 88.0% | |
| Secondary enrolmentSecondary school enrolment, % gross | 82.0%2016 | — | — | 43.3% | 64.6% | · | +27.5 ppsince 2006 | 45.9% | 68.0% | 77.3% | |
| Lower secondary completionLower secondary completion rate, % of age group | 67.6%2023 | 128/168 | 9/34 | 32.9% | 51.6% | 72.5%2019 | +11.3 ppsince 2013 | 44.4% | 73.7% | 77.9% | |
| Tertiary enrolmentTertiary enrolment, % gross | 6.4%2013 | — | — | 4.3% | 7.0%2011 | · | +2.0 ppsince 2002 | 9.3% | 27.4% | 43.6% | |
| Out-of-school childrenChildren out of school, % of primary school age | 3.8%2022 | 87/178 | 28/38 | · | 13.4% | 8.5%2019 | −8.6 ppsince 2012 | — | 8.3% | — | |
| Adult literacyAdult literacy rate, % of people 15+ | 90.8%2022 | 82/141 | 5/41 | 81.7% | · | 90.8%2022 | +9.1 ppsince 2000 | 68.7% | 78.3% | 87.7% | |
| Youth literacyYouth literacy rate, % of people 15–24 | 98.7%2022 | 69/148 | 3/42 | 91.9% | · | 98.7%2022 | +7.3 ppsince 2006 | 79.0% | 91.9% | 93.1% | |
| Pupils per teacherPupils per teacher, primary | 26.62017 | 49/173 | 33/40 | 31.3 | 32.3 | · | −18%since 2007 | 37.4 | 28.9 | 23.4 | |
| Education spendingPublic spending on education, % of GDP | 6.0%2024 | 25/184 | 6/43 | 5.5% | 6.1% | 5.3% | −1.3 ppsince 2014 | 3.3% | 3.4% | 3.6% | |
| Education, % of budgetEducation spending, % of government expenditure | 19.2%2025 | 23/179 | 9/42 | 18.7% | 18.3% | 15.9% | +2.8 ppsince 2015 | 15.4% | 13.6% | 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
- Primary completion+10.0 pp93.6% in 2023
- Secondary enrolment+27.5 pp82.0% in 2016
- Lower secondary completion+11.3 pp67.6% in 2023
- Tertiary enrolment+2.0 pp6.4% in 2013
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
Eswatini and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Eswatini. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Eswatini | South Africa | Mozambique |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolment | 30.0%2014 | 17.5%2020 | — |
| Primary enrolment | 116.5%2023 | 101.8%2023 | 119.2%2022 |
| Primary completion | 93.6%2023 | 95.3%2023 | 72.4%2022 |
| Secondary enrolment | 82.0%2016 | 104.1%2023 | 37.2%2017 |
| Lower secondary completion | 67.6%2023 | 88.3%2023 | 26.1%2019 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 6.4%2013 | 23.5%2023 | 7.5%2018 |
| Out-of-school children | 3.8%2022 | 6.1%2023 | 1.0%2022 |
| Adult literacy | 90.8%2022 | 91.2%2024 | 61.7%2022 |
| Youth literacy | 98.7%2022 | 97.2%2024 | 71.4%2022 |