Photo: Bryce Edwards from San Jose, CA, USA derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 04 of 18 · Country Index 2026
Bahamas: Education & Knowledge
How far does a country's schooling carry its children?
Bahamas is placed joint 176th 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 15.88 (2024); Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary 47.25 (2024).
Share
Education & Knowledge
joint176th
of 198 countries placed
Placed from 3 of 4 key statistics
- 15.88Out-of-School Rate, Primary, 2024Out-of-school rate, primary age (%)
- 47.25Participation 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
- 2.742Government Spending on Education, 2023Government expenditure on education (% of GDP)
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Bahamas 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)
Latest reading per country, 2014–2024 · Bahamas’s is from 2024 · CC BY-SA 4.0
15.88
Out-of-school rate, primary age (%)
Lower is better
Bahamas: 15.88. 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
Key 2 of 4
Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
Latest reading per country, 2014–2024 · Bahamas’s is from 2024 · CC BY-SA 4.0
47.25
Children one year before primary entry age in organised learning (%)
Higher is better
Bahamas: 47.25. 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
Key 3 of 4
Upper Secondary Completion Rate
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
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 Bahamas, 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
Key 4 of 4
Government Spending on Education
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY-SA 4.0
2.742
Government expenditure on education (% of GDP)
Higher is better
Bahamas: 2.742. 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
02Over time
Which way Bahamas 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
BahamasWorld median
Bahamas rose from 12.52 in 2004 to 15.88 in 2024; the world median went from 3.791 to 3.691.
Every year’s figures
Year Bahamas World median 2024 15.9 3.691 2023 28.9 3.393 2022 — 3.002 2021 — 3.330 2020 — 2.678 2019 — 2.758 2018 — 2.439 2017 — 2.907 2016 — 2.954 2015 — 3.052 2014 — 3.904 2013 — 3.413 2012 3.2 3.408 2011 1.2 3.626 2010 7.1 3.491 2009 7.2 3.577 2008 4.9 3.878 2007 6.1 4.029 2006 9.8 4.338 2005 8.7 4.571 2004 12.5 3.791 2003 — 4.412 2002 — 4.144 2001 — 4.051 2000 — 8.642 Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary
Children one year before primary entry age in organised learning (%) · higher is better
BahamasWorld median
Bahamas rose from 44.39 in 2011 to 47.25 in 2024; the world median went from 86.19 to 85.9.
Every year’s figures
Year Bahamas World median 2024 47.25 85.9 2023 38.54 87.6 2022 — 87.7 2021 29.42 87.0 2020 — 88.3 2019 42.72 88.8 2018 38.03 89.6 2017 45.98 87.4 2016 40.65 87.9 2015 38.08 88.2 2014 42.28 89.2 2013 36.41 88.0 2012 44.40 85.4 2011 44.39 86.2 2010 — 86.1 2009 — 84.8 2008 — 85.8 2007 — 86.7 2006 — 84.0 2005 — 82.2 2004 — 81.8 2003 — 78.3 2002 — 80.0 2001 — 80.8 2000 — 66.3 Government Spending on Education
Government expenditure on education (% of GDP) · higher is better
BahamasWorld median
Bahamas rose from 2.233 in 2000 to 2.742 in 2023; the world median went from 3.886 to 3.709.
Every year’s figures
Year Bahamas World median 2023 2.74 3.7092 2022 2.62 4.0570 2021 3.05 4.2611 2020 3.71 4.4056 2019 2.63 4.1407 2018 2.49 4.2159 2017 2.70 4.1401 2016 2.59 4.2342 2015 2.27 4.2386 2014 2.25 4.2005 2013 2.42 4.3493 2012 2.30 4.0348 2011 2.36 3.9987 2010 2.45 4.1396 2009 — 4.6638 2008 — 4.4226 2007 — 4.1717 2006 — 4.0593 2005 — 4.0557 2004 — 3.9745 2003 — 4.1595 2002 — 4.0173 2001 — 4.1002 2000 2.23 3.8861
03In context
Bahamas 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.
Bahamas and Caribbean
Bahamas has no land border, so the table compares it with its sub-region. Standing among all 198; the key columns are the publishers’ own values.
| 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 11th | 0.59 | 98.04 | — | 6.4583 |
 Aruba | =41st | 1.755 | 96.09 | — | — |
 Jamaica | 43rd | 4.341 | 94.69 | 92 | 5.6545 |
 Turks and Caicos Islands | =48th | 0.133 | 98.36 | — | 2.6877 |
 Dominica | 50th | 3.952 | 98.03 | — | 4.6942 |
 Cuba | 69th | 4.684 | 97.06 | 74.13 | — |
 Antigua and Barbuda | 86th | 1.711 | 94.08 | — | 3.1051 |
 Trinidad and Tobago | 93rd | 7.164 | 96.69 | 84.85 | 3.2336 |
 Montserrat | 96th | 6.686 | 72.92 | — | 7.1902 |
 Saint Lucia | 97th | 7.012 | 91.73 | 94.25 | 2.7421 |
 Dominican Republic | 98th | 4.928 | 93.47 | 64.68 | 3.7606 |
 Barbados | 107th | 17.6 | 78.17 | 95.71 | 3.7754 |
 Grenada | 110th | 4.941 | 74.96 | — | 5.1254 |
 Puerto Rico | 118th | 13.25 | 89.02 | — | 4.2690 |
 Sint Maarten | =123rd | 6.781 | — | — | 3.9236 |
 Curaçao | 128th | 27.89 | 77.65 | — | 5.3007 |
 Cayman Islands | 130th | 5.169 | 96.16 | — | 1.5702 |
 British Virgin Islands | 161st | 26.97 | 82.84 | — | 3.1728 |
| Bahamas | =176th | 15.88 | 47.25 | — | 2.7419 |
 Haiti | 181st | — | 76.02 | 18.48 | 0.9646 |
 Anguilla | not placed | — | 89.69 | — | — |
 Saint Kitts and Nevis | not placed | — | — | — | 3.4973 |
 Saint Martin | not placed | — | — | — | — |
 United States Virgin Islands | not placed | — | — | — | — |
“—”: no published reading in that edition. What a standing is
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 Bahamas in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Bahamas is ahead of the world, and behind
9 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 median3
Statistics on which Bahamas does better than the middle country measured.
Upper Secondary AttainmentUIS · 2023 · world median 65.7690.965.76▲ Improved since 2019
Bahamas: 90.9 · 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 9th of 95 · derived.
Mean Years of SchoolingUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 9.93312.819.933No real change since 2013
Bahamas: 12.81 · 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 22nd of 193 · derived.
Pupils per Qualified Teacher, PrimaryUIS · 2024 · world median 20.6720.0720.67No real change since 2014
Bahamas: 20.07 · world median 20.67 · Primary pupils per qualified teacher (headcount basis). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 8.244 to 284.7; lower is better.
Position 49th of 92 · derived, 1st = worst.
Behind the world median5
Statistics on which Bahamas does worse than the middle country measured.
Qualified Teachers in Primary EducationUIS · 2024 · world median 93.6689.2593.66▲ Improved since 2014
Bahamas: 89.25 · world median 93.66 · Primary teachers with the minimum qualifications their country requires (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 100; higher is better.
Expected Years of SchoolingUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 13.3411.8913.34▼ Worsened since 2013
Bahamas: 11.89 · 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 138th of 195 · derived.
Out-of-School Rate, Lower Secondary AgeUIS · 2024 · world median 6.34315.596.343▲ Improved since 2021
Bahamas: 15.59 · world median 6.343 · Out-of-school rate, lower secondary age (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.011 to 79.71; lower is better.
Position 30th of 116 · derived, 1st = worst.
Secondary School EnrolmentUIS · 2024 · world median 93.1979.4993.19▼ Worsened since 2014
Bahamas: 79.49 · world median 93.19 · Gross secondary enrolment ratio (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 19.87 to 158.55; higher is better.
Position 86th of 109 · derived.
Pre-Primary Net Enrolment RateUIS · 2024 · world median 65.9331.1865.93▼ Worsened since 2014
Bahamas: 31.18 · world median 65.93 · Net enrolment rate, pre-primary (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 1.779 to 99.85; higher is better.
Position 101st of 120 · derived.
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 2,2402022,240No real change since 2022
Bahamas: 202 · 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 Bahamas
Academic Freedom Index, Adult Literacy Rate, Bachelor's or Higher Attainment (last 2022), Female Share of Researchers, Female Share of STEM Graduates, Gender Parity Index, Tertiary Enrolment, Government Funding per Primary Student, Harmonized Test Scores, Inbound Mobility Rate, Tertiary, Intergenerational Persistence in Education, Learning Poverty, Learning-Adjusted Years of School, 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, Outbound Mobility Ratio, Tertiary, PISA Mathematics Performance, PISA Reading Performance, PISA Science Performance, Primary Completion Rate, Primary Schools with Electricity, Primary Schools with Internet for Teaching, Research and Development Spending, Researchers per Million Inhabitants, School Life Expectancy (last 1995), Share of Graduates from ICT Programmes, Tertiary Enrolment Ratio (last 1995), 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.
“Position · derived” is this site’s ordering of the published values, 1st = best unless the row says otherwise; the publisher ranks no country on it. Rank, position and standing
05Country Index 2026
Education & Knowledge among Bahamas’s 12 topics
Education & Knowledge is Bahamas’s 11th best-placed topic of 12. Strongest first, each marker at its share of that topic’s field.
- Food & Agriculture13th of 1843/4 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties59th of 1983/4 keys
- Governance & Institutions69th of 1943/4 keys
- Risk & Resilience74th of 1933/4 keys
- Health & Wellbeing96th of 2002/4 keys
- Development & Human Capital99th of 1963/3 keys
- Mobility & Trade97th of 1773/4 keys
- Work & Labour108th of 1824/4 keys
- Digital & Technologyjoint 150th of 1983/4 keys
- Environment & Sustainability162nd of 1862/4 keys
- Education & Knowledgejoint 176th of 1983/4 keys
- Energy156th of 1652/3 keys
No standing on Economy & Innovation, Gender & Equality, 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 Bahamas can most readily be measured against.
1
United Arab EmiratesWestern Asia
1st of 198 · 2 of 4 keys
Photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2
GreeceSouthern Europe
2nd of 198 · 3 of 4 keys
Photo: User:Ggia derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
3
PolandEastern 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 keysHighest in Americas
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines11th3/4 keysThis page
Bahamas=176th3/4 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
Bahamas 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 Bahamas rank on education & knowledge?
Bahamas is placed joint 176th 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 Bahamas?
15.88 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 Bahamas?
47.25 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 Bahamas’s education & knowledge figures changed?
Out-of-School Rate, Primary rose from 12.52 in 2004 to 15.88 in 2024; Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary rose from 44.39 in 2011 to 47.25 in 2024; Government Spending on Education rose from 2.233 in 2000 to 2.742 in 2023.
Which education & knowledge statistics are missing for Bahamas?
No current reading is published for Bahamas on Academic Freedom Index, Adult Literacy Rate, Bachelor's or Higher Attainment, Female Share of Researchers, Female Share of STEM Graduates, Gender Parity Index, Tertiary Enrolment, Government Funding per Primary Student, Harmonized Test Scores, Inbound Mobility Rate, Tertiary, Intergenerational Persistence in Education, Learning Poverty, Learning-Adjusted Years of School, 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, Outbound Mobility Ratio, Tertiary, PISA Mathematics Performance, PISA Reading Performance, PISA Science Performance, Primary Completion Rate, Primary Schools with Electricity, Primary Schools with Internet for Teaching, Research and Development Spending, Researchers per Million Inhabitants, School Life Expectancy, 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.
08Method
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
A standing is this site’s ordering, named with its edition — never a publisher’s rank. 4 key statistics vote, one vote each; every country’s published value becomes a place within that key’s own field, the places are averaged, and the average is never published. A country needs 2 of the 4 keys to be placed.
The education & knowledge method, step by stepHow every standing on this site is built
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 9 statistics on this page come from 3 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
Bahamas’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Bahamas (banner) — Bryce Edwards from San Jose, CA, USA 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). Bahamas: Education & Knowledge — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/bahamas/education