Education · Latin America & Caribbean · Upper-middle income
Jamaica: education in numbers
Pre-primary enrolment is 92.4% (2011). Primary enrolment is 97.3% (2024), 125th of 191 in the world and 24th of 39 in Latin America & Caribbean. Primary completion is 83.6% (2024), 126th of 168 in the world and 27th of 33 in Latin America & Caribbean.
Pre-primary enrolment
JamaicaLatin America & CaribbeanUpper-middle incomeWorld
Primary enrolment
JamaicaLatin America & CaribbeanUpper-middle incomeWorld
11 indicators
Education: Jamaica 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 | 92.4%2011 | — | — | 82.8% | 92.4%2011 | · | +15.1 ppsince 2001 | 75.6% | 77.9% | 60.9% | |
| Primary enrolmentPrimary school enrolment, % gross | 97.3%2024 | 125/191 | 24/39 | 92.1% | 97.2% | 90.9% | +3.3 ppsince 2014 | 104.6% | 100.7% | 102.2% | |
| Primary completionPrimary completion rate, % of age group | 83.6%2024 | 126/168 | 27/33 | 84.2% | 89.3% | 78.6% | −6.3 ppsince 2014 | 96.5% | 95.2% | 88.0% | |
| Secondary enrolmentSecondary school enrolment, % gross | 84.5%2024 | 123/176 | 27/37 | 80.0% | 89.5% | 81.5% | −1.9 ppsince 2014 | 98.0% | 96.5% | 77.3% | |
| Lower secondary completionLower secondary completion rate, % of age group | 85.6%2024 | 97/168 | 17/32 | 91.2% | 96.8% | 82.6% | −5.1 ppsince 2014 | 81.5% | 93.0% | 77.9% | |
| Tertiary enrolmentTertiary enrolment, % gross | 26.2%2015 | 116/172 | 23/31 | 13.9% | 25.4% | · | +9.0 ppsince 2005 | 58.9% | 64.6% | 43.6% | |
| Out-of-school childrenChildren out of school, % of primary school age | 4.3%2024 | 82/178 | 26/35 | 10.9% | · | 12.6% | −6.3 ppsince 2014 | — | 4.0% | — | |
| Youth literacyYouth literacy rate, % of people 15–24 | 93.6%2022 | 98/148 | 27/31 | 91.6%1999 | · | 93.6%2022 | +2.0 ppsince 1999 | 98.7% | 99.3% | 93.1% | |
| Pupils per teacherPupils per teacher, primary | 24.82018 | 57/173 | 4/30 | · | 23.42011 | 24.82018 | −9.9%since 2004 | 21.3 | 18.4 | 23.4 | |
| Education spendingPublic spending on education, % of GDP | 5.5%2024 | 34/184 | 5/38 | 5.0% | 6.4% | 5.4% | −0.5 ppsince 2014 | 3.8% | 3.6% | 3.6% | |
| Education, % of budgetEducation spending, % of government expenditure | 17.9%2024 | 33/179 | 8/37 | 16.8% | 16.1% | 17.4%2021 | −3.9 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
- Pre-primary enrolment+15.1 pp92.4% in 2011
- Tertiary enrolment+9.0 pp26.2% in 2015
- Out-of-school children−6.3 pp4.3% in 2024
- Youth literacy+2.0 pp93.6% in 2022
Worse than ten years ago
- Primary completion−6.3 pp83.6% in 2024
- Secondary enrolment−1.9 pp84.5% in 2024
- Lower secondary completion−5.1 pp85.6% 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
Jamaica and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Jamaica. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Jamaica | United Kingdom |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolment | 92.4%2011 | 105.8%2020 |
| Primary enrolment | 97.3%2024 | 102.2%2023 |
| Primary completion | 83.6%2024 | 101.1%2023 |
| Secondary enrolment | 84.5%2024 | 112.1%2023 |
| Lower secondary completion | 85.6%2024 | 98.0%2023 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 26.2%2015 | 80.4%2023 |
| Out-of-school children | 4.3%2024 | 0.1%2023 |
| Youth literacy | 93.6%2022 | — |
| Pupils per teacher | 24.82018 | 15.12017 |