PW
Education · East Asia & Pacific · High income
Palau: education in numbers
Pre-primary enrolment is 70.5% (2020), 93rd of 176 in the world and 17th of 30 in East Asia & Pacific. Primary enrolment is 106.9% (2024), 43rd of 191 in the world and 7th of 30 in East Asia & Pacific. Primary completion is 100.4% (2024), 30th of 168 in the world and 7th of 26 in East Asia & Pacific.
Pre-primary enrolment
PalauEast Asia & PacificHigh incomeWorld
Primary enrolment
PalauEast Asia & PacificHigh incomeWorld
11 indicators
Education: Palau 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 | 70.5%2020 | 93/176 | 17/30 | 64.1% | · | 70.5% | −17.6 ppsince 2004 | 83.2% | 83.8% | 60.9% | |
| Primary enrolmentPrimary school enrolment, % gross | 106.9%2024 | 43/191 | 7/30 | 114.2% | · | 105.5% | −5.8 ppsince 2014 | 100.0% | 99.8% | 102.2% | |
| Primary completionPrimary completion rate, % of age group | 100.4%2024 | 30/168 | 7/26 | 104.3% | · | 103.3%2021 | +2.1 ppsince 2014 | 95.4% | 97.8% | 88.0% | |
| Secondary enrolmentSecondary school enrolment, % gross | 95.7%2024 | 77/176 | 11/26 | 91.4% | · | 160.8% | −12.7 ppsince 2014 | 92.0% | 103.2% | 77.3% | |
| Lower secondary completionLower secondary completion rate, % of age group | 91.7%2024 | 81/168 | 16/26 | · | · | 101.2%2021 | −15.3 ppsince 2014 | 97.3% | 95.6% | 77.9% | |
| Tertiary enrolmentTertiary enrolment, % gross | 71.8%2024 | 47/172 | 9/27 | 45.8% | · | 51.5%2022 | +4.5 ppsince 2013 | 63.3% | 82.0% | 43.6% | |
| Out-of-school childrenChildren out of school, % of primary school age | 1.3%2024 | 128/178 | 22/29 | · | · | 1.6% | −0.6 ppsince 2014 | — | 2.5% | — | |
| Adult literacyAdult literacy rate, % of people 15+ | 99.8%2020 | 9/141 | 2/23 | · | · | 99.8% | — | 96.6% | 97.7% | 87.7% | |
| Youth literacyYouth literacy rate, % of people 15–24 | 100.0%2020 | 2/148 | 1/23 | · | · | 100.0% | — | 99.1% | 99.3% | 93.1% | |
| Education spendingPublic spending on education, % of GDP | 3.4%2023 | 122/184 | 21/29 | 7.8% | · | 3.5% | −4.1 ppsince 2002 | 3.5% | 4.7% | 3.6% | |
| Education, % of budgetEducation spending, % of government expenditure | 9.1%2025 | 151/179 | 24/28 | 13.8% | · | 9.0% | −6.4 ppsince 2002 | 13.0% | 12.0% | 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+2.1 pp100.4% in 2024
- Tertiary enrolment+4.5 pp71.8% in 2024
- Out-of-school children−0.6 pp1.3% in 2024
Worse than ten years ago
- Pre-primary enrolment−17.6 pp70.5% in 2020
- Secondary enrolment−12.7 pp95.7% in 2024
- Lower secondary completion−15.3 pp91.7% 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
Palau and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Palau. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Palau | Indonesia | Philippines | Micronesia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolment | 70.5%2020 | 62.3%2018 | 90.2%2021 | 5.9%2021 |
| Primary enrolment | 106.9%2024 | 100.4%2025 | 94.0%2024 | 82.2%2024 |
| Primary completion | 100.4%2024 | 100.0%2023 | 91.4%2024 | 78.9%2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 95.7%2024 | 97.2%2025 | 85.3%2024 | 87.3%2005 |
| Lower secondary completion | 91.7%2024 | 99.7%2025 | 84.8%2024 | 75.1%2024 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 71.8%2024 | 44.9%2023 | 47.4%2024 | — |
| Out-of-school children | 1.3%2024 | 0.9%2025 | 11.6%2024 | 23.1%2024 |
| Adult literacy | 99.8%2020 | 96.0%2020 | 98.5%2020 | — |
| Youth literacy | 100.0%2020 | 93.8%2022 | 99.8%2022 | — |