MV
Education · South Asia · Upper-middle income
Maldives: education in numbers
Pre-primary enrolment is 76.1% (2020), 81st of 176 in the world and 2nd of 6 in South Asia. Primary enrolment is 99.7% (2024), 100th of 191 in the world and 5th of 6 in South Asia. Primary completion is 93.8% (2024), 93rd of 168 in the world and 4th of 6 in South Asia.
Pre-primary enrolment
MaldivesSouth AsiaUpper-middle incomeWorld
Primary enrolment
MaldivesSouth AsiaUpper-middle incomeWorld
12 indicators
Education: Maldives in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within South Asia; 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 | 76.1%2020 | 81/176 | 2/6 | 60.5% | 49.6% | 76.1% | +26.5 ppsince 2010 | 62.0% | 77.9% | 60.9% | |
| Primary enrolmentPrimary school enrolment, % gross | 99.7%2024 | 100/191 | 5/6 | 127.0% | 102.1% | 97.2% | +2.9 ppsince 2014 | 119.0% | 100.7% | 102.2% | |
| Primary completionPrimary completion rate, % of age group | 93.8%2024 | 93/168 | 4/6 | · | 111.6% | 94.4%2019 | −1.0 ppsince 2014 | 94.4% | 95.2% | 88.0% | |
| Secondary enrolmentSecondary school enrolment, % gross | 79.4%2023 | 131/176 | 5/6 | 51.4% | 70.0% | 69.9% | +11.0 ppsince 2013 | 76.9% | 96.5% | 77.3% | |
| Lower secondary completionLower secondary completion rate, % of age group | 94.6%2024 | 62/168 | 2/6 | · | 100.1% | 95.1%2019 | +2.1 ppsince 2014 | 86.6% | 93.0% | 77.9% | |
| Tertiary enrolmentTertiary enrolment, % gross | 48.5%2022 | 84/172 | 1/6 | · | 11.4%2008 | 27.1% | +37.1 ppsince 2008 | 32.8% | 64.6% | 43.6% | |
| Out-of-school childrenChildren out of school, % of primary school age | 0.9%2024 | 135/178 | 4/6 | 3.2% | 6.2% | 4.5% | −3.8 ppsince 2014 | — | 4.0% | — | |
| Adult literacyAdult literacy rate, % of people 15+ | 98.2%2019 | 33/141 | 1/6 | 96.3% | · | 98.2%2019 | −0.2 ppsince 2006 | 78.2% | 96.2% | 87.7% | |
| Youth literacyYouth literacy rate, % of people 15–24 | 98.7%2019 | 65/148 | 2/6 | 98.2% | · | 98.7%2019 | −0.6 ppsince 2006 | 96.9% | 99.3% | 93.1% | |
| Pupils per teacherPupils per teacher, primary | 10.22017 | 160/173 | 6/6 | 22.7 | 11.7 | · | −30%since 2007 | 33.2 | 18.4 | 23.4 | |
| Education spendingPublic spending on education, % of GDP | 5.2%2023 | 57/184 | 2/6 | 5.8%2002 | 3.6% | 5.8% | +1.8 ppsince 2013 | 2.9% | 3.6% | 3.6% | |
| Education, % of budgetEducation spending, % of government expenditure | 9.6%2025 | 147/179 | 5/6 | 21.2%2002 | 10.9% | 10.5% | −1.8 ppsince 2015 | 11.3% | 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+26.5 pp76.1% in 2020
- Secondary enrolment+11.0 pp79.4% in 2023
- Lower secondary completion+2.1 pp94.6% in 2024
- Tertiary enrolment+37.1 pp48.5% in 2022
Worse than ten years ago
- Primary completion−1.0 pp93.8% in 2024
- Adult literacy−0.2 pp98.2% in 2019
- Youth literacy−0.6 pp98.7% in 2019
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
neighbours
Maldives and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Maldives. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Maldives | United Kingdom |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolment | 76.1%2020 | 105.8%2020 |
| Primary enrolment | 99.7%2024 | 102.2%2023 |
| Primary completion | 93.8%2024 | 101.1%2023 |
| Secondary enrolment | 79.4%2023 | 112.1%2023 |
| Lower secondary completion | 94.6%2024 | 98.0%2023 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 48.5%2022 | 80.4%2023 |
| Out-of-school children | 0.9%2024 | 0.1%2023 |
| Adult literacy | 98.2%2019 | — |
| Youth literacy | 98.7%2019 | — |