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United Arab Emirates: education in numbers
Pre-primary enrolment is 94.2% (2020), 40th of 176 in the world and 3rd of 15 in the Middle East & North Africa. Primary enrolment is 108.0% (2024), 38th of 191 in the world and 3rd of 19 in the Middle East & North Africa. Primary completion is 99.2% (2023), 42nd of 168 in the world and 3rd of 19 in the Middle East & North Africa.
Education: United Arab Emirates in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan; 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 | 94.2%2020 | 40/176 | 3/15 | 60.2% | 85.3% | 94.2% | +8.9 ppsince 2010 | 33.8% | 83.8% | 60.9% | |
| Primary enrolmentPrimary school enrolment, % gross | 108.0%2024 | 38/191 | 3/19 | 119.8% | · | 108.1% | +7.8 ppsince 2006 | 94.6% | 99.8% | 102.2% | |
| Primary completionPrimary completion rate, % of age group | 99.2%2023 | 42/168 | 3/19 | 110.8% | · | 99.9% | +10.1 ppsince 2006 | 83.7% | 97.8% | 88.0% | |
| Secondary enrolmentSecondary school enrolment, % gross | 102.1%2024 | 52/176 | 4/17 | 62.6%1998 | · | 99.2% | +39.5 ppsince 1998 | 65.8% | 103.2% | 77.3% | |
| Lower secondary completionLower secondary completion rate, % of age group | 104.2%2023 | 12/168 | 1/19 | 117.3% | · | 103.9% | +7.1 ppsince 2006 | 66.7% | 95.6% | 77.9% | |
| Tertiary enrolmentTertiary enrolment, % gross | 63.7%2024 | 60/172 | 3/19 | · | · | 55.0% | — | 29.7% | 82.0% | 43.6% | |
| Out-of-school childrenChildren out of school, % of primary school age | 0.0%2024 | 178/178 | 17/17 | 7.8%1999 | · | 0.1% | −7.6 ppsince 2006 | — | 2.5% | — | |
| Adult literacyAdult literacy rate, % of people 15+ | 98.8%2024 | 26/141 | 1/18 | · | · | 98.1%2021 | +8.8 ppsince 2005 | 75.6% | 97.7% | 87.7% | |
| Youth literacyYouth literacy rate, % of people 15–24 | 99.6%2024 | 37/148 | 3/19 | · | · | 99.7%2021 | +4.6 ppsince 2005 | 86.9% | 99.3% | 93.1% | |
| Pupils per teacherPupils per teacher, primary | 24.52016 | 58/173 | 7/20 | 16.1 | 16.8 | · | +58%since 2006 | 21.3 | 14.0 | 23.4 | |
| Education spendingPublic spending on education, % of GDP | 3.9%2021 | 106/184 | 10/16 | · | · | 4.0% | — | 4.4% | 4.7% | 3.6% | |
| Education, % of budgetEducation spending, % of government expenditure | 14.8%2021 | 59/179 | 7/15 | · | · | 12.8% | — | 13.1% | 12.0% | 14.0% |
Better than ten years ago
- Pre-primary enrolment+8.9 pp94.2% in 2020
- Primary completion+10.1 pp99.2% in 2023
- Secondary enrolment+39.5 pp102.1% in 2024
- Lower secondary completion+7.1 pp104.2% in 2023
Worse than ten years ago
- Pupils per teacher+58%24.5 in 2016
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
United Arab Emirates and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with United Arab Emirates. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | United Arab Emirates | Iran | Saudi Arabia | Oman |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolment | 94.2%2020 | 72.5%2020 | 18.3%2021 | 27.4%2021 |
| Primary enrolment | 108.0%2024 | 102.0%2023 | 104.0%2024 | 94.7%2024 |
| Primary completion | 99.2%2023 | 97.4%2023 | 99.4%2024 | 92.1%2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 102.1%2024 | 85.1%2023 | 110.7%2024 | 95.1%2024 |
| Lower secondary completion | 104.2%2023 | 85.2%2023 | 103.5%2024 | 95.3%2024 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 63.7%2024 | 58.7%2022 | 83.9%2024 | 42.2%2024 |
| Out-of-school children | 0.0%2024 | 0.1%2023 | 0.5%2024 | 5.8%2024 |
| Adult literacy | 98.8%2024 | 88.9%2023 | 97.9%2024 | 97.3%2022 |
| Youth literacy | 99.6%2024 | 98.7%2023 | 99.9%2024 | 99.7%2022 |