10 answers, 3 from Nepal's own official bodies, with a link to each figure.
76.2% of Nepalis aged five and over could read and write at the 2021 census, 83.6% of men and 69.4% of women, according to the National Statistics Office's Nepal in Figures 2026. The rate was 66.6% in 2011 and 39.6% in 1991.
The census asks whether each person can read and write, so the rate measures basic literacy rather than skills. The figure covers everyone aged five and over, so it is not directly comparable with adult literacy rates for people aged 15 and over.
The primary completion rate in Nepal was 109.4% in 2025, according to the World Bank, using UNESCO data.
The rate compares the number of pupils entering the last grade of primary school with the number of children of the official age for that grade. It can exceed 100% when many pupils are older than the official age, for example because they started late or repeated a grade, so it is not the share of children who finish.
Nepal's government spent the equivalent of 3.7% of GDP on education in 2024, down from 4.0% in 2023, according to the World Bank, using UNESCO data.
The figure covers public spending on all levels of education across federal, provincial and local government. It does not include what families pay for private schooling. Education policy is set by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
The figures below use one definition for every country, so they can differ from national figures.
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics puts net primary school enrolment in Nepal at 96.3% in 2019. That is the lowest since at least 2011.
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics puts gross secondary school enrolment in Nepal at 90.4% in 2024. That is the highest since at least 2005. Worldwide: 64th of 100.
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics puts gross tertiary enrolment in Nepal at 21.3% in 2024. That is the highest since at least 2005. Of 90 countries with 2024 data, 73rd highest.
The latest figure from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, for 2019, is 68.7%. It was 59.6% in 2011. It is 5th highest of 5 in South Asia, where the median is 74.9%. Worldwide: 43rd of 55.
In 2024, government spending on education in Nepal was 3.7% of GDP, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. The peak was 4.8% of GDP in 2017 and the low 3.0% of GDP in 2013. World rank, highest first: 25th of 36.
The latest figure from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, for 2019, is 20. That is the lowest since at least 2005.
109.4%: that is the primary completion rate in Nepal for 2025, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Its high point since 2005 was 2019, at 118.5%; its low point was 2005, at 71.8%.
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