Education · Sub-Saharan Africa · Lower-middle income
Zimbabwe: education in numbers
Pre-primary enrolment is 74.3% (2021), 85th of 176 in the world and 7th of 39 in Sub-Saharan Africa. Primary enrolment is 93.1% (2024), 155th of 191 in the world and 27th of 41 in Sub-Saharan Africa. Primary completion is 86.0% (2024), 122nd of 168 in the world and 10th of 36 in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Pre-primary enrolment
ZimbabweSub-Saharan AfricaLower-middle incomeWorld
Primary enrolment
ZimbabweSub-Saharan AfricaLower-middle incomeWorld
12 indicators
Education: Zimbabwe in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within Sub-Saharan Africa; 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 | 74.3%2021 | 85/176 | 7/39 | 66.9% | 45.8%2012 | 72.5% | +6.5 ppsince 2003 | 28.1% | 58.5% | 60.9% | |
| Primary enrolmentPrimary school enrolment, % gross | 93.1%2024 | 155/191 | 27/41 | 112.0% | 100.1%2012 | 93.6% | −5.2 ppsince 2014 | 97.1% | 105.4% | 102.2% | |
| Primary completionPrimary completion rate, % of age group | 86.0%2024 | 122/168 | 10/36 | 100.8%2001 | 87.0%2012 | 88.3% | −0.1 ppsince 2014 | 68.9% | 88.0% | 88.0% | |
| Secondary enrolmentSecondary school enrolment, % gross | 52.4%2013 | — | — | 40.0% | 75.9%2012 | · | +13.3 ppsince 2003 | 45.9% | 68.0% | 77.3% | |
| Lower secondary completionLower secondary completion rate, % of age group | 65.6%2024 | 129/168 | 10/34 | · | 68.9%2012 | 63.4% | −0.7 ppsince 2014 | 44.4% | 73.7% | 77.9% | |
| Tertiary enrolmentTertiary enrolment, % gross | 7.7%2024 | 158/172 | 23/34 | · | 6.9% | · | +0.4 ppsince 2013 | 9.3% | 27.4% | 43.6% | |
| Out-of-school childrenChildren out of school, % of primary school age | 10.5%2024 | 43/178 | 23/38 | 5.3% | 8.5%2012 | 16.9% | +0.1 ppsince 2014 | — | 8.3% | — | |
| Adult literacyAdult literacy rate, % of people 15+ | 93.2%2019 | 75/141 | 3/41 | · | · | 93.2%2019 | — | 68.7% | 78.3% | 87.7% | |
| Youth literacyYouth literacy rate, % of people 15–24 | 92.5%2019 | 101/148 | 10/42 | · | · | 92.5%2019 | — | 79.0% | 91.9% | 93.1% | |
| Pupils per teacherPupils per teacher, primary | 36.42013 | — | — | 37.0 | 35.92012 | · | −5.6%since 2003 | 37.4 | 28.9 | 23.4 | |
| Education spendingPublic spending on education, % of GDP | 0.4%2023 | 182/184 | 41/43 | · | 1.5% | · | −5.6 ppsince 2013 | 3.3% | 3.4% | 3.6% | |
| Education, % of budgetEducation spending, % of government expenditure | 17.9%2025 | 32/179 | 13/42 | · | 8.5% | 15.7% | −11.6 ppsince 2015 | 15.4% | 13.6% | 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+6.5 pp74.3% in 2021
- Secondary enrolment+13.3 pp52.4% in 2013
- Tertiary enrolment+0.4 pp7.7% in 2024
- Pupils per teacher−5.6%36.4 in 2013
Worse than ten years ago
- Primary completion−0.1 pp86.0% in 2024
- Lower secondary completion−0.7 pp65.6% in 2024
- Out-of-school children+0.1 pp10.5% 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
Zimbabwe and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Zimbabwe. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Zimbabwe | South Africa | Mozambique | Zambia | Botswana |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolment | 74.3%2021 | 17.5%2020 | — | 8.7%2017 | 21.4%2015 |
| Primary enrolment | 93.1%2024 | 101.8%2023 | 119.2%2022 | 115.6%2024 | 109.3%2022 |
| Primary completion | 86.0%2024 | 95.3%2023 | 72.4%2022 | 81.8%2013 | 101.5%2022 |
| Secondary enrolment | 52.4%2013 | 104.1%2023 | 37.2%2017 | 56.8%2024 | 70.6%2021 |
| Lower secondary completion | 65.6%2024 | 88.3%2023 | 26.1%2019 | 55.3%2013 | 91.4%2022 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 7.7%2024 | 23.5%2023 | 7.5%2018 | 4.0%2012 | 21.4%2024 |
| Out-of-school children | 10.5%2024 | 6.1%2023 | 1.0%2022 | 3.5%2024 | 0.5%2022 |
| Adult literacy | 93.2%2019 | 91.2%2024 | 61.7%2022 | 71.8%2024 | — |
| Youth literacy | 92.5%2019 | 97.2%2024 | 71.4%2022 | 77.7%2024 | — |