12 answers, 5 from Cambodia's own official bodies, with a link to each figure.
84.4% of Cambodians aged 6 and over could read and write in 2023, according to the National Institute of Statistics' Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey 2023: 87.5% of males and 81.5% of females. Among young people aged 15 to 24, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics gives a literacy rate of 96.57% for 2023.
The survey found that 9.3% of people aged 6 and over had never attended school, 2.5% in Phnom Penh and 12.0% in rural areas. Literacy is much higher among younger people, who have grown up with wider access to school, than among older adults.
94.5% of Cambodian children aged 6 to 14 were attending school in 2023, according to the National Institute of Statistics' Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey 2023, and the net attendance rate in primary school was 92.1%.
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics estimates that 3.69% of children of primary school age were out of school in 2024, and 17.59% of those of lower secondary age. The same survey found that the most common reason children aged 6 to 17 gave for not attending school was having to contribute to household income.
82.32% of young people in Cambodia had completed primary school in 2021, 56.04% lower secondary and 26.65% upper secondary, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics' completion rates for primary, lower secondary and upper secondary education.
Completion rates measure the share of people a few years older than the final-grade age who have finished each level, using household survey data. All three rates have risen since 2014, when they were 72.28%, 40.52% and 21.23%. 2021 is the latest year in UNESCO's data.
Cambodia's gross enrolment ratio in tertiary education was 21.44% in 2024, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, up from 17.44% in 2023 and 13.50% in 2021.
The gross ratio compares the number of students in universities and other higher education institutions with the population of the five-year age group after secondary school, so it can include older students. Higher education in Cambodia is overseen by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, whose website could not be reached on 15 October 2026.
Cambodia's government spent 2.18% of GDP on education in 2023, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, up from 1.96% in 2021 and 2022.
Families also pay for schooling. The National Institute of Statistics' Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey 2023 found average yearly costs per student of 721,000 riels in primary school, 1,338,000 riels in lower secondary and 5,330,000 riels at undergraduate or graduate level, covering fees, books, transport and other items. It found that education costs in 2023 were almost half as high again as in 2021.
The figures below use one definition for every country, so they can differ from national figures.
90.3%: that is net primary school enrolment in Cambodia for 2018, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. No year since 2006 has been lower. It is 8th highest of 9 in East Asia & Pacific, where the median is 93.1%. Of 69 countries with 2018 data, 46th highest.
58.8%: that is gross secondary school enrolment in Cambodia for 2024, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. It is the top of the series, which starts in 2006. East Asia & Pacific median: 92.0%; Cambodia is 15th highest of 16. Worldwide: 90th of 100.
According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, gross tertiary enrolment in Cambodia was 21.4% in 2024. That is the highest since at least 2005. Across East Asia & Pacific the middle value was 47.4%, and Cambodia placed 13th highest of 15. World rank, highest first: 70th of 90.
According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the adult literacy rate in Cambodia was 71.9% in 2021. It is the bottom of the series, which starts in 2008. Across East Asia & Pacific the middle value was 95.8%, and Cambodia placed 5th highest of 5. Worldwide: 35th of 43.
In 2023, government spending on education in Cambodia was 2.2% of GDP, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Its high point since 2007 was 2020, at 2.2% of GDP; its low point was 2011, at 1.2% of GDP. Across East Asia & Pacific the middle value was 3.8% of GDP, and Cambodia placed 16th highest of 20. Of 112 countries with 2023 data, 95th highest.
The latest figure from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, for 2018, is 42. Since 2005 it has ranged from 42 (2017) to 53 (2005). East Asia & Pacific median: 20; Cambodia is 1st highest of 13. World rank, highest first: 10th of 85.
According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the primary completion rate in Cambodia was 91.0% in 2024. The peak was 93.4% in 2014 and the low 80.2% in 2018. It is 16th highest of 20 in East Asia & Pacific, where the median is 98.9%. World rank, highest first: 72nd of 104.
Read on 14 October 2026. Definitions · Report an error