
Photo: Z_dead from London, UK derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 04 of 18 · Country Index 2026
Antigua and Barbuda: Education & Knowledge
How far does a country's schooling carry its children?
Antigua and Barbuda is placed 86th of 198 countries on education & knowledge in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: Out-of-School Rate, Primary 1.711 (2024); Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary 94.08 (2024).
Share
Education & Knowledge
86th
of 198 countries placed
Placed from 3 of 4 key statistics
- 1.711Out-of-School Rate, Primary, 2024Out-of-school rate, primary age (%)
- 94.08Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary, 2024Children one year before primary entry age in organised learning (%)
- —Upper Secondary Completion Rate, 2025No reading for this country
- 3.105Government Spending on Education, 2023Government expenditure on education (% of GDP)
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Antigua and Barbuda on education & knowledge — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used — or, for a survey-based key, each country’s latest reading; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.
Key 1 of 4
Out-of-School Rate, Primary
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
Why it is a key: Primary-age children who are not in school at all: the floor of an education system.
Latest reading per country, 2014–2024 · Antigua and Barbuda’s is from 2023 · CC BY-SA 4.0
1.711
Out-of-school rate, primary age (%)
Lower is better
Antigua and Barbuda: 1.711. Across the 192 countries at their latest reading, values run from 0.004 (United Arab Emirates) to 65.6 (Equatorial Guinea); the world median is 3.691.
- World median
- 3.691
- Best in Caribbean
- 0.133 Turks and Caicos Islands
Each grey tick is one of 192 countries at its latest reading, 2014–2024.
Key 2 of 4
Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
Why it is a key: Whether children take part in organised learning in the year before primary school — whether an education system reaches them before it starts.
Latest reading per country, 2014–2024 · Antigua and Barbuda’s is from 2014 · CC BY-SA 4.0
94.08
Children one year before primary entry age in organised learning (%)
Higher is better
Antigua and Barbuda: 94.08. Across the 187 countries at their latest reading, values run from 3.411 (Yemen) to 100 (United Arab Emirates); the world median is 85.9.
- World median
- 85.9
- Best in Caribbean
- 98.36 Turks and Caicos Islands
Each grey tick is one of 187 countries at its latest reading, 2014–2024.
Key 3 of 4
Upper Secondary Completion Rate
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
Why it is a key: How far a schooling system carries the young people who get through primary — the only key here that measures anything past childhood.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY-SA 4.0
No reading
Upper secondary completion rate (%)
Higher is better
UIS publishes no 2025 figure for Antigua and Barbuda, so the standing rests on the other keys.
Across the 164 countries in this edition, values run from 2.13 (South Sudan) to 99.27 (South Korea); the world median is 64.87.
- World median
- 64.87
- Best in Caribbean
- 95.71 Barbados
Each grey tick is one of 164 countries in the 2025 edition.
Key 4 of 4
Government Spending on Education
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
Why it is a key: What a state chooses to spend on education, as a share of its economy — the input, where the other two keys measure reach.
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY-SA 4.0
3.105
Government expenditure on education (% of GDP)
Higher is better
Antigua and Barbuda: 3.105. Across the 123 countries in this edition, values run from 0 (Somalia) to 16.39 (Kiribati); the world median is 3.709.
- World median
- 3.709
- Best in Caribbean
- 7.19 Montserrat
Each grey tick is one of 123 countries in the 2023 edition.
02Over time
Which way Antigua and Barbuda is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
Out-of-School Rate, Primary
Out-of-school rate, primary age (%) · lower is better
Antigua and BarbudaWorld median
Antigua and Barbuda rose from 0.362 in 2007 to 1.711 in 2023; the world median went from 4.029 to 3.393.
Every year’s figures
Year Antigua and Barbuda World median 2024 — 3.691 2023 1.71 3.393 2022 — 3.002 2021 — 3.330 2020 — 2.678 2019 0.24 2.758 2018 0.91 2.439 2017 1.37 2.907 2016 1.20 2.954 2015 0.95 3.052 2014 1.16 3.904 2013 2.92 3.413 2012 0.45 3.408 2011 1.35 3.626 2010 3.28 3.491 2009 1.46 3.577 2008 0.25 3.878 2007 0.36 4.029 2006 — 4.338 2005 — 4.571 2004 — 3.791 2003 — 4.412 2002 — 4.144 2001 — 4.051 2000 — 8.642 Government Spending on Education
Government expenditure on education (% of GDP) · higher is better
Antigua and BarbudaWorld median
Antigua and Barbuda rose from 3.079 in 2002 to 3.105 in 2023; the world median went from 4.017 to 3.709.
Every year’s figures
Year Antigua and Barbuda World median 2023 3.11 3.7092 2022 2.50 4.0570 2021 2.51 4.2611 2020 3.01 4.4056 2019 3.36 4.1407 2018 2.27 4.2159 2017 2.28 4.1401 2016 2.17 4.2342 2015 1.99 4.2386 2014 2.30 4.2005 2013 2.36 4.3493 2012 2.13 4.0348 2011 — 3.9987 2010 — 4.1396 2009 2.22 4.6638 2008 — 4.4226 2007 — 4.1717 2006 — 4.0593 2005 — 4.0557 2004 — 3.9745 2003 — 4.1595 2002 3.08 4.0173 2001 — 4.1002 2000 — 3.8861
03In context
Antigua and Barbuda beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 198 countries on education & knowledge, never a place within the region.
Antigua and Barbuda and Caribbean
Antigua and Barbuda has no land border, so the table compares it with its sub-region. The standing is each country’s place among all 198 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.
| Country | Standing | Out-of-School Rate, PrimaryOut-of-school rate, primary age (%) | Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before PrimaryChildren one year before primary entry age in organised learning (%) | Upper Secondary Completion RateUpper secondary completion rate (%) | Government Spending on EducationGovernment expenditure on education (% of GDP) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11th | 0.59 | 98.04 | — | 6.4583 | |
| =41st | 1.755 | 96.09 | — | — | |
| 43rd | 4.341 | 94.69 | 92 | 5.6545 | |
| =48th | 0.133 | 98.36 | — | 2.6877 | |
| 50th | 3.952 | 98.03 | — | 4.6942 | |
| 69th | 4.684 | 97.06 | 74.13 | — | |
| 86th | 1.711 | 94.08 | — | 3.1051 | |
| 93rd | 7.164 | 96.69 | 84.85 | 3.2336 | |
| 96th | 6.686 | 72.92 | — | 7.1902 | |
| 97th | 7.012 | 91.73 | 94.25 | 2.7421 | |
| 98th | 4.928 | 93.47 | 64.68 | 3.7606 | |
| 107th | 17.6 | 78.17 | 95.71 | 3.7754 | |
| 110th | 4.941 | 74.96 | — | 5.1254 | |
| 118th | 13.25 | 89.02 | — | 4.2690 | |
| =123rd | 6.781 | — | — | 3.9236 | |
| 128th | 27.89 | 77.65 | — | 5.3007 | |
| 130th | 5.169 | 96.16 | — | 1.5702 | |
| 161st | 26.97 | 82.84 | — | 3.1728 | |
| =176th | 15.88 | 47.25 | — | 2.7419 | |
| 181st | — | 76.02 | 18.48 | 0.9646 | |
| not placed | — | 89.69 | — | — | |
| not placed | — | — | — | 3.4973 | |
| not placed | — | — | — | — | |
| not placed | — | — | — | — |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across Caribbean
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 198.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines11th
Aruba=41st
Jamaica43rd
Turks and Caicos Islands=48th
Dominica50th
Cuba69th
Antigua and Barbuda86th
Trinidad and Tobago93rd
Montserrat96th
Saint Lucia97th
Dominican Republic98th
Barbados107th
Grenada110th
Puerto Rico118th
Sint Maarten=123rd
Curaçao128th
Cayman Islands130th
British Virgin Islands161st
Bahamas=176th
Haiti181st
Anguillanot placed
Saint Kitts and Nevisnot placed
Saint Martinnot placed
United States Virgin Islandsnot placed
Placed either side on education & knowledge
The countries immediately above and below Antigua and Barbuda in the topic’s list.
Russia83rd
Qatar84th
Fiji85th
Antigua and Barbuda86th
Algeria=87th
Ecuador=87th
Venezuela89th
04Context, no vote
Where Antigua and Barbuda is ahead of the world, and behind
8 more statistics filed under education & knowledge, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median5
Statistics on which Antigua and Barbuda does better than the middle country measured.
Adult Literacy RateUIS · 2024 · world median 93.9998.9593.99No earlier reading
Antigua and Barbuda: 98.95 · world median 93.99 · Adults 15+ who can read and write (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 26.83 to 100; higher is better.
Position 31st of 172 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Mean Years of SchoolingUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 9.93311.659.933▲ Improved since 2013
Antigua and Barbuda: 11.65 · world median 9.933 · Mean years of schooling (adults 25+). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 1.412 to 14.3; higher is better.
Position 48th of 193 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Expected Years of SchoolingUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 13.3415.513.34▼ Worsened since 2013
Antigua and Barbuda: 15.5 · world median 13.34 · Expected years of schooling. UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 5.635 to 21.69; higher is better.
Position 56th of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Upper Secondary AttainmentUIS · 2023 · world median 65.7674.0765.76▲ Improved since 2018
Antigua and Barbuda: 74.07 · world median 65.76 · Adults 25+ who completed upper secondary or higher (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 5.26 to 97.89; higher is better.
Position 40th of 95 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Learning-Adjusted Years of SchoolWorld Bank Group · 2020 · world median 7.9418.4447.941▲ Improved since 2018
Antigua and Barbuda: 8.444 · world median 7.941 · Learning-adjusted years of school (0–14). World Bank Group, 2020 edition, data for 2020.
Published values in that edition run from 2.207 to 12.81; higher is better.
Position 76th of 172 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Behind the world median2
Statistics on which Antigua and Barbuda does worse than the middle country measured.
Harmonized Test ScoresWorld Bank Group · 2020 · world median 414.32407414.32▲ Improved since 2018
Antigua and Barbuda: 407 · world median 414.32 · Harmonized test score (TIMSS-equivalent points; 300 = minimum, 625 = advanced attainment). World Bank Group, 2020 edition, data for 2020.
Published values in that edition run from 304.92 to 575.27; higher is better.
Position 95th of 172 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Bachelor's or Higher AttainmentUIS · 2023 · world median 19.8614.6919.86▼ Worsened since 2018
Antigua and Barbuda: 14.69 · world median 19.86 · Adults 25+ who completed a bachelor's degree or higher (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 1.135 to 52.72; higher is better.
Position 58th of 90 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No better end1
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
Scholarly ArticlesOurResearch · 2025 · world median 2,2401132,240No real change since 2022
Antigua and Barbuda: 113 · world median 2,240 · Articles with at least one author at an institution in the country (full counting). OpenAlex (OurResearch), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 1 to 1,094,890.
No current reading for Antigua and Barbuda
Academic Freedom Index, Female Share of Researchers, Female Share of STEM Graduates (last 2012), Gender Parity Index, Tertiary Enrolment (last 2012), Government Funding per Primary Student (last 2009), Inbound Mobility Rate, Tertiary (last 2012), Intergenerational Persistence in Education, Learning Poverty, Lower Secondary Completion Rate, Minimum Proficiency in Mathematics, End of Lower Secondary, Minimum Proficiency in Mathematics, End of Primary, Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Lower Secondary, Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Primary, Nobel Prize Laureates by Country of Birth, Out-of-School Rate, Lower Secondary Age (last 2023), Out-of-School Rate, Primary (last 2023), Outbound Mobility Ratio, Tertiary (last 2012), Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary (last 2014), PISA Mathematics Performance, PISA Reading Performance, PISA Science Performance, Pre-Primary Net Enrolment Rate (last 2014), Primary Completion Rate, Primary Schools with Electricity (last 2023), Primary Schools with Internet for Teaching (last 2018), Pupils per Qualified Teacher, Primary (last 2023), Qualified Teachers in Primary Education (last 2018), Research and Development Spending, Researchers per Million Inhabitants, School Life Expectancy (last 2012), Secondary School Enrolment (last 2023), Share of Graduates from ICT Programmes (last 2012), Tertiary Enrolment Ratio (last 2012), Trust in Scientists, Upper Secondary Completion Rate, Wealth Parity Index, Lower Secondary Completion and Youth Literacy Rate. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Education & Knowledge among Antigua and Barbuda’s 13 topics
Education & Knowledge is Antigua and Barbuda’s 8th best-placed topic of 13. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.
- Health & Wellbeing66th of 2002/4 keys
- Development & Human Capital66th of 1963/3 keys
- Mobility & Trade65th of 1774/4 keys
- Gender & Equality73rd of 1832/4 keys
- Risk & Resiliencejoint 78th of 1933/4 keys
- Economy & Innovation72nd of 1762/4 keys
- Governance & Institutionsjoint 84th of 1942/4 keys
- Education & Knowledge86th of 1983/4 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties91st of 1983/4 keys
- Food & Agriculture104th of 1843/4 keys
- Environment & Sustainability149th of 1863/4 keys
- Energy135th of 1652/3 keys
- Digital & Technology168th of 1983/4 keys
No standing on Work & Labour, Peace & Security, Poverty & Inequality: too few of those topics’ key statistics are published for this country.
06The top of the list
Who leads on education & knowledge
The three countries placed highest of 198, and the leaders Antigua and Barbuda can most readily be measured against.
1United Arab Emirates
Western Asia
1st of 198 · 2 of 4 keys
Photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2Greece
Southern Europe
2nd of 198 · 3 of 4 keys
Photo: User:Ggia derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
3Poland
Eastern Europe
3rd of 198 · 3 of 4 keys
Photo: Ralf Lotys (Sicherlich) · CC BY 3.0, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest placed on all 4 keys
Moldova7th4/4 keys
Highest in Americas
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines11th3/4 keys
This page
Antigua and Barbuda86th3/4 keys
Positions out of 198 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Questions
Antigua and Barbuda on education & knowledge: questions answered
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
How does Antigua and Barbuda rank on education & knowledge?
Antigua and Barbuda is placed 86th of 198 countries on Education & Knowledge in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 4 key statistics (Out-of-School Rate, Primary, Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary and Government Spending on Education). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Out-of-School Rate, Primary figure for Antigua and Barbuda?
1.711 in 2024 (out-of-school rate, primary age (%)), according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). The world median in the same edition was 3.691.
What is the latest Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary figure for Antigua and Barbuda?
94.08 in 2024 (children one year before primary entry age in organised learning (%)), according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). The world median in the same edition was 85.9.
How have Antigua and Barbuda’s education & knowledge figures changed?
Out-of-School Rate, Primary rose from 0.362 in 2007 to 1.711 in 2023; Government Spending on Education rose from 3.079 in 2002 to 3.105 in 2023.
Which education & knowledge statistics are missing for Antigua and Barbuda?
No current reading is published for Antigua and Barbuda on Academic Freedom Index, Female Share of Researchers, Female Share of STEM Graduates, Gender Parity Index, Tertiary Enrolment, Government Funding per Primary Student, Inbound Mobility Rate, Tertiary, Intergenerational Persistence in Education, Learning Poverty, Lower Secondary Completion Rate, Minimum Proficiency in Mathematics, End of Lower Secondary, Minimum Proficiency in Mathematics, End of Primary, Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Lower Secondary, Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Primary, Nobel Prize Laureates by Country of Birth, Out-of-School Rate, Lower Secondary Age, Out-of-School Rate, Primary, Outbound Mobility Ratio, Tertiary, Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary, PISA Mathematics Performance, PISA Reading Performance, PISA Science Performance, Pre-Primary Net Enrolment Rate, Primary Completion Rate, Primary Schools with Electricity, Primary Schools with Internet for Teaching, Pupils per Qualified Teacher, Primary, Qualified Teachers in Primary Education, Research and Development Spending, Researchers per Million Inhabitants, School Life Expectancy, Secondary School Enrolment, Share of Graduates from ICT Programmes, Tertiary Enrolment Ratio, Trust in Scientists, Upper Secondary Completion Rate, Wealth Parity Index, Lower Secondary Completion and Youth Literacy Rate. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
08Keep reading
Explore further
Antigua and Barbuda, topic by topic
- Governance & Institutions=84th of 194
- Economy & Innovation72nd of 176
- Health & Wellbeing66th of 200
- Development & Human Capital66th of 196
- Environment & Sustainability149th of 186
- Gender & Equality73rd of 183
- Democracy & Civil Liberties91st of 198
- Risk & Resilience=78th of 193
- Mobility & Trade65th of 177
- Food & Agriculture104th of 184
- Energy135th of 165
- Digital & Technology168th of 198
- The full Antigua and Barbuda profile
Nearby, on education & knowledge
The key statistics, for every country
09Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
How much children actually learn is only partly covered. International test scores exist for a limited group of countries, and they are published here as context rather than used as a key, because a key must describe most of the world. Universities, research, and youth and adult literacy also appear as context.
How the Education & Knowledge standing is decided, step by step
A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.
- A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 4 indicators on this topic are keys and 42 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
- Each key is read at one edition. ⚠ The keys behind this standing do not all describe the same year — they run from 2023 to 2025, because publishers release on their own schedules. Read the standing as “how this country places now”, not as a snapshot of one year.
- Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
- Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
- The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
- A country needs 2 of this topic’s 4 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 198 countries clear the bar here.
- A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 4.
- A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.
The key statistics and their licences
- Out-of-School Rate, Primary — UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), CC BY-SA 4.0
- Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary — UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), CC BY-SA 4.0
- Upper Secondary Completion Rate — UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), CC BY-SA 4.0
- Government Spending on Education — UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), CC BY-SA 4.0
The other 8 statistics on this page come from 4 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
Antigua and Barbuda’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Antigua and Barbuda (banner) — Z_dead from London, UK derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY 2.0
- United Arab Emirates — Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Greece — User:Ggia derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Poland — Ralf Lotys (Sicherlich), CC BY 3.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Antigua and Barbuda: Education & Knowledge — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/antigua-and-barbuda/education