10 answers, 3 from Tonga's own official bodies, with a link to each figure.
24% of children aged 36 to 59 months in Tonga attended early childhood education in 2024, down from 35% in 2019, according to the Tonga Statistics Department's release of the MICS 2024 results. The survey was carried out from October 2024 with UNICEF support.
The figure comes from a household survey, so it reflects attendance reported in household interviews rather than school enrolment records. The same release notes that violent discipline affected 88% of children aged 1 to 14, compared with 87% in 2019. The full report is free to download.
Government spending on education in Tonga was 5.3% of GDP in 2022, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, which publishes the figure in its data browser and on its Tonga country page. Education took 9.3% of total government spending in 2024.
The two measures answer different questions: the share of GDP compares education spending with the size of the economy, while the share of government spending shows the priority it gets in the budget. Spending figures can be revised when final accounts replace budget estimates.
98.2% of young people in Tonga completed primary school and 92.4% completed lower secondary school in 2019, according to completion rates from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics in its data browser and on its Tonga country page. The institute estimates that 28.7% of young people of upper secondary age were out of school in 2024.
The completion rate is the share of people a few years older than the official finishing age who have completed that level, so it describes the recent past. The Pacific Community's education indicators give a literacy rate of 99.1% for 15 to 24 year olds from the 2021 census.
The figures below use one definition for every country, so they can differ from national figures.
According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, net primary school enrolment in Tonga was 85.9% in 2015. In 2006 the figure was 98.7%. Across East Asia & Pacific the middle value was 95.1%, and Tonga placed 14th highest of 19. Of 131 countries with 2015 data, 104th highest.
According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, gross secondary school enrolment in Tonga was 92.4% in 2024. The peak was 107.1% in 2011 and the low 90.5% in 2020. It is 8th highest of 16 in East Asia & Pacific, where the median is 92.0%. World rank, highest first: 53rd of 100.
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics puts gross tertiary enrolment in Tonga at 42.9% in 2023. It was 6.8% in 2003. Across East Asia & Pacific the middle value was 44.2%, and Tonga placed 12th highest of 21. World rank, highest first: 75th of 120.
In 2023, the adult literacy rate in Tonga was 99.5%, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. In 2011 the figure was 99.4%. Across East Asia & Pacific the middle value was 96.6%, and Tonga placed 1st highest of 5. Of 33 countries with 2023 data, 4th highest.
5.3% of GDP: that is government spending on education in Tonga for 2022, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. No year since 2017 has been higher. East Asia & Pacific median: 4.5% of GDP; Tonga is 9th highest of 22. Of 155 countries with 2022 data, 36th highest.
The latest figure from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, for 2015, is 22. The peak was 26 in 2013 and the low 20 in 2005. It is 7th highest of 18 in East Asia & Pacific, where the median is 19. Of 136 countries with 2015 data, 60th highest.
108.1%: that is the primary completion rate in Tonga for 2024, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. The peak was 118.2% in 2013 and the low 99.1% in 2021. Across East Asia & Pacific the middle value was 98.9%, and Tonga placed 3rd highest of 20. World rank, highest first: 7th of 104.
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