12 answers, 5 from Uzbekistan's own official bodies, with a link to each figure.
The literacy rate of people aged 16 and over in Uzbekistan was 99.99% in 2025, according to the National Statistics Committee's living standards data. The committee publishes the same measure for men, women and young people aged 16 to 24.
Basic literacy in Uzbekistan is close to universal because general secondary education is compulsory. The measure records whether people can read and write, not their level of reading skills. For learning outcomes, look at international assessments such as PISA and PIRLS, in which Uzbekistan has taken part.
Uzbekistan's general secondary schools had 6,870,545 pupils in 2025, up from 6,776,333 in 2024, according to the National Statistics Committee. There were 2,807,982 pupils in grades 1 to 4, 3,069,222 in grades 5 to 9 and 974,918 in grades 10 and 11.
Girls accounted for 3,355,128 pupils and boys for 3,515,417. The figures are counted at the start of the school year. The number of pupils in the early grades depends on the birth rate six or seven years earlier, so it moves with past births.
Uzbekistan's higher education institutions had 1,535,006 students in 2025, up from 1,432,810 in 2024, according to the National Statistics Committee. That is 405 students per 10,000 people. 372,950 students were admitted to bachelor's programmes in 2025.
The total includes full-time students (855,200), evening students (75,200) and correspondence students (604,600), so it is larger than the number studying full-time. Non-state higher education institutions had 462,100 students in 2024, a growing share of the total.
577,700 teachers were working in general secondary schools in Uzbekistan at the start of the 2025/2026 school year, excluding part-time staff, according to the National Statistics Committee. That was 12,800 more than a year earlier. Women made up 72.5% of teachers.
Samarkand and Kashkadarya regions had the most teachers, with 65,100 each. A wider count that includes part-time staff in all educational institutions gives 596,729 teachers in 2025, so check which measure a figure uses.
Residents of Uzbekistan spent more than 27 trillion soums on educational services in seven months of 2026, according to the National Statistics Committee. Government spending on education was 84.2 trillion soums in 2025, according to the committee's figures on public education spending.
Household spending covers paid services such as private schools, contract fees at universities, tutoring and courses. Many university places in Uzbekistan are fee-paying contracts, which adds to household spending. The CPI showed education services with the smallest price rise of any category in January to August 2026.
The figures below use one definition for every country, so they can differ from national figures.
The latest figure from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, for 2018, is 94.6%. Its high point since 2007 was 2017, at 96.3%; its low point was 2009, at 88.2%. It is 4th highest of 11 in Europe & Central Asia, where the median is 94.5%. Worldwide: 24th of 69.
The latest figure from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, for 2025, is 98.1%. That is the highest since at least 2005.
In 2025, gross tertiary enrolment in Uzbekistan was 59.8%, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. No year since 2005 has been higher.
In 2022, the adult literacy rate in Uzbekistan was 100.0%, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. No year since 2013 has been higher. It is 1st highest of 6 in Europe & Central Asia, where the median is 99.9%. World rank, highest first: 1st of 44.
The latest figure from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, for 2023, is 5.5% of GDP. The peak was 6.3% of GDP in 2019 and the low 4.1% of GDP in 2021. Across Europe & Central Asia the middle value was 3.7% of GDP, and Uzbekistan placed 3rd highest of 16. Worldwide: 19th of 112.
22: that is the number of primary pupils per teacher in Uzbekistan for 2018, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. That is the highest since at least 2005. Europe & Central Asia median: 15; Uzbekistan is 2nd highest of 15. World rank, highest first: 41st of 85.
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics puts the primary completion rate in Uzbekistan at 83.6% in 2025. No year since 2005 has been lower.
Read on 14 October 2026. Definitions · Report an error