7 answers, 3 from Nicaragua's own official bodies, with a link to each figure.
880,080 children enrolled in primary school and 501,683 in secondary school in Nicaragua in 2023, according to the INIDE Statistical Yearbook 2023. 263,618 enrolled in early-years education and 107,393 in adult education.
The figures are initial enrolment at the start of the school year, from the Ministry of Education. Rural pupils were a majority in primary (517,165) but a minority in secondary (194,241). Technical education had 47,128 students and short technical training courses 459,667.
138,329 students were enrolled at the universities that receive state funding in Nicaragua in 2023, 79,856 of them women, according to the INIDE Statistical Yearbook 2023. UNAN-Managua had 42,897 and UNAN-León 35,119.
The count covers the 10 universities in the National Council of Universities (CNU) with state budgets; private universities outside the CNU are not included. These universities had 6,029 teaching staff.
87.3% of adults in Nicaragua could read and write in 2014, according to UNESCO data published by the World Bank, the latest year in that series. INIDE's unmet basic needs report found 8.6% of households in the low-education category in 2024.
The low-education index counts households with school-age children not attending school, not illiteracy. No more recent adult literacy rate was found on INIDE's site, checked on 15 October 2026.
The figures below use one definition for every country, so they can differ from national figures.
In 2023, gross secondary school enrolment in Nicaragua was 70.2%, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Since 2005 it has ranged from 68.6% (2005) to 72.2% (2007). Across Latin America & Caribbean the middle value was 92.9%, and Nicaragua placed 25th highest of 28. Worldwide: 112th of 138.
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics puts gross tertiary enrolment in Nicaragua at 30.4% in 2023. It was 18.0% in 2002. Latin America & Caribbean median: 48.6%; Nicaragua is 11th highest of 16. Of 120 countries with 2023 data, 89th highest.
2.9% of GDP: that is government spending on education in Nicaragua for 2023, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. No year since 2010 has been lower. It is 21st highest of 26 in Latin America & Caribbean, where the median is 3.8% of GDP. Worldwide: 79th of 112.
In 2022, the primary completion rate in Nicaragua was 81.7%, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Its high point since 2005 was 2010, at 82.8%; its low point was 2008, at 78.3%. It is 21st highest of 23 in Latin America & Caribbean, where the median is 96.5%. World rank, highest first: 107th of 127.
Read on 14 October 2026. Definitions · Report an error