Education · Latin America & Caribbean · High income
Panama: education in numbers
Pre-primary enrolment is 27.0% (2020), 148th of 176 in the world and 33rd of 33 in Latin America & Caribbean. Primary enrolment is 96.9% (2024), 129th of 191 in the world and 26th of 39 in Latin America & Caribbean. Primary completion is 96.2% (2024), 73rd of 168 in the world and 16th of 33 in Latin America & Caribbean.
Pre-primary enrolment
PanamaLatin America & CaribbeanHigh incomeWorld
Primary enrolment
PanamaLatin America & CaribbeanHigh incomeWorld
12 indicators
Education: Panama 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 | 27.0%2020 | 148/176 | 33/33 | 43.5% | 64.8% | 27.0% | −37.9 ppsince 2010 | 75.6% | 83.8% | 60.9% | |
| Primary enrolmentPrimary school enrolment, % gross | 96.9%2024 | 129/191 | 26/39 | 104.7% | 105.5% | 95.2% | −2.2 ppsince 2014 | 104.6% | 99.8% | 102.2% | |
| Primary completionPrimary completion rate, % of age group | 96.2%2024 | 73/168 | 16/33 | 91.5% | 95.2% | 87.5% | −0.5 ppsince 2014 | 96.5% | 97.8% | 88.0% | |
| Secondary enrolmentSecondary school enrolment, % gross | 76.6%2017 | — | — | 64.2% | 71.9% | · | +8.9 ppsince 2007 | 98.0% | 103.2% | 77.3% | |
| Lower secondary completionLower secondary completion rate, % of age group | 78.8%2024 | 116/168 | 24/32 | · | 70.8% | 70.5% | +3.2 ppsince 2012 | 81.5% | 95.6% | 77.9% | |
| Tertiary enrolmentTertiary enrolment, % gross | 53.7%2023 | 78/172 | 13/31 | 42.5% | 44.0% | 44.9% | +10.0 ppsince 2012 | 58.9% | 82.0% | 43.6% | |
| Out-of-school childrenChildren out of school, % of primary school age | 7.7%2024 | 55/178 | 14/35 | 5.5% | 2.9% | 9.8% | −0.2 ppsince 2014 | — | 2.5% | — | |
| Adult literacyAdult literacy rate, % of people 15+ | 96.2%2024 | 54/141 | 10/26 | 91.9% | 94.1% | 96.2%2021 | +2.1 ppsince 2010 | 94.9% | 97.7% | 87.7% | |
| Youth literacyYouth literacy rate, % of people 15–24 | 99.2%2024 | 48/148 | 10/31 | 96.1% | 97.6% | 99.3%2021 | +1.2 ppsince 2014 | 98.7% | 99.3% | 93.1% | |
| Pupils per teacherPupils per teacher, primary | 22.02017 | 70/173 | 7/30 | 24.7 | 23.5 | · | −10%since 2007 | 21.3 | 14.0 | 23.4 | |
| Education spendingPublic spending on education, % of GDP | 2.5%2023 | 159/184 | 36/38 | 4.9% | 3.1%2011 | 4.3% | −0.6 ppsince 2011 | 3.8% | 4.7% | 3.6% | |
| Education, % of budgetEducation spending, % of government expenditure | 16.3%2024 | 43/179 | 12/37 | 19.8% | 12.9%2011 | 15.6% | +3.0 ppsince 2014 | 16.6% | 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
- Secondary enrolment+8.9 pp76.6% in 2017
- Lower secondary completion+3.2 pp78.8% in 2024
- Tertiary enrolment+10.0 pp53.7% in 2023
- Out-of-school children−0.2 pp7.7% in 2024
Worse than ten years ago
- Pre-primary enrolment−37.9 pp27.0% in 2020
- Primary completion−0.5 pp96.2% 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
Panama and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Panama. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Panama | United States | Colombia | Costa Rica |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolment | 27.0%2020 | 72.4%2020 | 85.9%2020 | 95.2%2021 |
| Primary enrolment | 96.9%2024 | 97.0%2022 | 104.8%2022 | 104.8%2024 |
| Primary completion | 96.2%2024 | 95.7%2022 | 97.1%2022 | 106.4%2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 76.6%2017 | 97.5%2022 | 101.6%2022 | 121.8%2024 |
| Lower secondary completion | 78.8%2024 | 101.4%2022 | 83.0%2022 | 61.4%2024 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 53.7%2023 | 79.4%2022 | 59.3%2022 | 55.0%2019 |
| Out-of-school children | 7.7%2024 | 4.0%2022 | 7.3%2022 | 4.5%2024 |
| Adult literacy | 96.2%2024 | — | 95.3%2024 | 97.4%2011 |
| Youth literacy | 99.2%2024 | — | 99.0%2024 | 80.5%2018 |