Education · Europe & Central Asia · Upper-middle income
Serbia: education in numbers
Pre-primary enrolment is 63.8% (2021), 102nd of 176 in the world and 42nd of 51 in Europe & Central Asia. Primary enrolment is 96.0% (2024), 138th of 191 in the world and 47th of 53 in Europe & Central Asia. Primary completion is 96.0% (2022), 74th of 168 in the world and 32nd of 47 in Europe & Central Asia.
Pre-primary enrolment
SerbiaEurope & Central AsiaUpper-middle incomeWorld
Primary enrolment
SerbiaEurope & Central AsiaUpper-middle incomeWorld
12 indicators
Education: Serbia in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within Europe & Central 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 | 63.8%2021 | 102/176 | 42/51 | 51.4% | 52.7% | 65.4% | +8.2 ppsince 2011 | 78.3% | 77.9% | 60.9% | |
| Primary enrolmentPrimary school enrolment, % gross | 96.0%2024 | 138/191 | 47/53 | 103.6% | 95.9% | 97.7% | −5.1 ppsince 2014 | 99.9% | 100.7% | 102.2% | |
| Primary completionPrimary completion rate, % of age group | 96.0%2022 | 74/168 | 32/47 | · | 96.4% | 97.9% | −2.0 ppsince 2012 | 98.1% | 95.2% | 88.0% | |
| Secondary enrolmentSecondary school enrolment, % gross | 89.8%2024 | 107/176 | 47/53 | 91.2% | 91.4% | 92.2% | −4.5 ppsince 2014 | 103.3% | 96.5% | 77.3% | |
| Lower secondary completionLower secondary completion rate, % of age group | 95.3%2022 | 57/168 | 27/50 | · | 94.6% | 95.2% | −7.3 ppsince 2012 | 91.9% | 93.0% | 77.9% | |
| Tertiary enrolmentTertiary enrolment, % gross | 70.6%2024 | 50/172 | 30/52 | 37.8%2001 | 49.1% | 68.1% | +12.5 ppsince 2014 | 84.9% | 64.6% | 43.6% | |
| Out-of-school childrenChildren out of school, % of primary school age | 3.3%2024 | 96/178 | 12/51 | · | 5.1% | 2.9% | +2.1 ppsince 2014 | — | 4.0% | — | |
| Adult literacyAdult literacy rate, % of people 15+ | 99.3%2022 | 20/141 | 17/27 | · | 98.0%2011 | 99.5%2019 | +1.4 ppsince 2011 | 98.8% | 96.2% | 87.7% | |
| Youth literacyYouth literacy rate, % of people 15–24 | 99.7%2022 | 29/148 | 17/27 | · | 99.3%2011 | 100.0%2019 | +0.4 ppsince 2011 | 99.8% | 99.3% | 93.1% | |
| Pupils per teacherPupils per teacher, primary | 14.32018 | 118/173 | 18/48 | · | 16.4 | 14.32018 | −14%since 2008 | 14.9 | 18.4 | 23.4 | |
| Education spendingPublic spending on education, % of GDP | 3.4%2023 | 123/184 | 39/49 | · | 4.1%2011 | 3.1%2021 | −0.7 ppsince 2011 | 4.6% | 3.6% | 3.6% | |
| Education, % of budgetEducation spending, % of government expenditure | 8.4%2023 | 161/179 | 45/49 | · | 10.2%2011 | 7.1%2021 | −1.8 ppsince 2011 | 11.7% | 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+8.2 pp63.8% in 2021
- Tertiary enrolment+12.5 pp70.6% in 2024
- Adult literacy+1.4 pp99.3% in 2022
- Youth literacy+0.4 pp99.7% in 2022
Worse than ten years ago
- Primary completion−2.0 pp96.0% in 2022
- Secondary enrolment−4.5 pp89.8% in 2024
- Lower secondary completion−7.3 pp95.3% in 2022
- Out-of-school children+2.1 pp3.3% 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
Serbia and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Serbia. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Serbia | Romania | Hungary | Bulgaria | Croatia | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolment | 63.8%2021 | 94.9%2020 | 90.8%2020 | 84.3%2020 | 70.9%2020 | 25.5%2021 |
| Primary enrolment | 96.0%2024 | 84.9%2023 | 102.9%2024 | 95.3%2024 | 101.2%2023 | 101.2%2023 |
| Primary completion | 96.0%2022 | 81.0%2023 | 108.9%2024 | 94.6%2024 | 100.5%2023 | 100.5%2023 |
| Secondary enrolment | 89.8%2024 | 81.6%2023 | 107.4%2024 | 94.8%2024 | 105.0%2023 | 87.9%2023 |
| Lower secondary completion | 95.3%2022 | 78.0%2023 | 93.8%2024 | 94.0%2024 | 100.1%2023 | 93.8%2023 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 70.6%2024 | 55.2%2023 | 60.5%2024 | 69.5%2024 | 81.2%2023 | 45.5%2023 |
| Out-of-school children | 3.3%2024 | 15.6%2023 | 2.8%2024 | 5.9%2024 | 1.8%2023 | 2.1%2023 |
| Adult literacy | 99.3%2022 | 99.2%2021 | — | 98.3%2011 | — | 97.0%2013 |
| Youth literacy | 99.7%2022 | 99.9%2021 | — | 97.9%2011 | — | 99.7%2013 |