School Enrollment Rate by Country 2026: Statistics, Charts & Rankings
Country rankings use the latest available World Bank WDI / UNESCO UIS gross enrollment ratio for secondary education. Primary and tertiary enrollment are included for level comparison and long-run context.
Enrollment Statistics
Gross enrollment ratio counts total enrollment at a level of education, regardless of age, relative to the official age-group population for that level.
World aggregate, 2024.
Main ranking metric, 2024.
World aggregate, 2024.
Countries and economies with secondary GER data in the source extract.
Highest Reported Secondary Gross Enrollment Ratios
Top 20 countries and economies by latest available secondary gross enrollment ratio.
Gross ratios can exceed 100% because the numerator includes enrolled students outside the official age range.
Chart analysis
- Monaco has the highest reported secondary GER in the visual set at 158.5%.
- The top 20 threshold is 118.4%, reported by Turkiye.
- Several high values are above 100%, which is consistent with a gross enrollment metric rather than a net enrollment metric.
Country Enrollment Ranking
Highest 100 reported country/economy values by latest available secondary gross enrollment ratio. Source coverage contains 203 reported secondary GER values.
| Rank | Country | Region | Income | Secondary GER | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monaco | Europe & Central Asia | High income | 158.5% | 2024 |
| 2 | Belgium | Europe & Central Asia | High income | 143.0% | 2023 |
| 3 | Finland | Europe & Central Asia | High income | 142.4% | 2024 |
| 4 | Netherlands | Europe & Central Asia | High income | 137.5% | 2023 |
| 5 | St. Kitts and Nevis | Latin America & Caribbean | High income | 137.5% | 2023 |
| 6 | Vanuatu | East Asia & Pacific | Lower middle income | 134.7% | 2023 |
| 7 | Sweden | Europe & Central Asia | High income | 132.0% | 2024 |
| 8 | Australia | East Asia & Pacific | High income | 131.9% | 2024 |
| 9 | Ireland | Europe & Central Asia | High income | 130.6% | 2022 |
| 10 | Denmark | Europe & Central Asia | High income | 125.6% | 2024 |
| 11 | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | Latin America & Caribbean | Upper middle income | 124.9% | 2024 |
| 12 | Aruba | Latin America & Caribbean | High income | 124.4% | 2024 |
| 13 | South Sudan | Sub-Saharan Africa | Low income | 122.1% | 2024 |
| 14 | Costa Rica | Latin America & Caribbean | High income | 121.8% | 2024 |
| 15 | Portugal | Europe & Central Asia | High income | 120.3% | 2023 |
| 16 | Turks and Caicos Islands | Latin America & Caribbean | High income | 119.7% | 2024 |
| 17 | Uruguay | Latin America & Caribbean | High income | 119.1% | 2023 |
| 18 | Liechtenstein | Europe & Central Asia | High income | 118.7% | 2021 |
| 19 | Spain | Europe & Central Asia | High income | 118.5% | 2024 |
| 20 | Turkiye | Europe & Central Asia | Upper middle income | 118.4% | 2023 |
| 21 | Norway | Europe & Central Asia | High income | 116.3% | 2024 |
| 22 | New Zealand | East Asia & Pacific | High income | 114.2% | 2024 |
| 23 | United Kingdom | Europe & Central Asia | High income | 112.1% | 2023 |
| 24 | Sint Maarten (Dutch part) | Latin America & Caribbean | High income | 111.4% | 2014 |
| 25 | Saudi Arabia | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | High income | 110.7% | 2024 |
| 26 | Antigua and Barbuda | Latin America & Caribbean | High income | 108.9% | 2023 |
| 27 | Iceland | Europe & Central Asia | High income | 108.9% | 2023 |
| 28 | Luxembourg | Europe & Central Asia | High income | 108.6% | 2024 |
| 29 | Estonia | Europe & Central Asia | High income | 108.5% | 2024 |
| 30 | Albania | Europe & Central Asia | Upper middle income | 108.4% | 2024 |
Table analysis
- The displayed ranking is led by Monaco, followed by Belgium and Finland.
- The top 30 values range from 158.5% to 108.4%.
- Latest source years vary across countries, so the year column is part of the ranking context.
- High gross ratios do not mean that every child is enrolled at the official secondary age; over-age, under-age, repeat, and cross-border enrollment can affect the value.
World Enrollment Trend by Education Level
World gross enrollment ratio, selected years from 2000 to 2024.
The world secondary gross enrollment ratio increased by 17.8 percentage points between 2000 and 2024.
Trend analysis
- Primary GER stayed close to universal gross coverage across the selected period.
- Secondary GER moved from 59.5% in 2000 to 77.3% in 2024.
- Tertiary GER rose from 19.5% in 2000 to 43.6% in 2024.
Regional Secondary Enrollment Summary
World Bank regional aggregates, latest available 2024 values.
| Region | Secondary GER | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Europe & Central Asia | 103.3% | 2024 |
| North America | 98.1% | 2024 |
| Latin America & Caribbean | 98.0% | 2024 |
| East Asia & Pacific | 92.0% | 2024 |
| South Asia | 76.9% | 2024 |
| Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 65.8% | 2024 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 45.9% | 2024 |
Enrollment analysis
- Europe & Central Asia has the highest 2024 regional aggregate at 103.3%.
- Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest 2024 regional aggregate in this table at 45.9%.
- The regional spread between the highest and lowest aggregate is 57.4 percentage points.
Enrollment Interpretation Notes
The ranking is descriptive and uses one source indicator.
Gross versus net
Gross enrollment can exceed 100%. It is not the same as net enrollment, which is restricted to the official school-age group.
Level separation
Primary, secondary, and tertiary values should be read separately because each level has a different official age-group denominator.
Source-year variation
Country values use the latest available source year. Some countries report more recently than others.
Source and Methodology
Supporting indicators
Primary GER and tertiary GER.
Original data publisher
UNESCO Institute for Statistics, distributed through World Bank World Development Indicators.
Ranking method
Countries and economies are sorted by latest available secondary gross enrollment ratio. Values are rounded to one decimal place.
Gross enrollment ratio is total enrollment in a level of education, regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the population in the official age group for that level. The 2026 title refers to the publication year of the page; table values use source years reported by World Bank / UNESCO UIS.
The ranking is based only on secondary gross enrollment ratio and should not be read as a complete education quality ranking. Gross enrollment values above 100% can occur because of over-age enrollment, under-age enrollment, repetition, re-entry, or cross-border schooling.