Training

Schooling is free of charge and in principle compulsory from 5 to 16 years of age. In the mid-2010s, almost nine out of ten children underwent the first six years. Almost as many continued on to high school.

• COUNTRYAAH: Country facts of Antigua and Barbuda, including geography profile, population statistics, and business data.

There are more than a dozen higher education institutions. At vocational colleges, teachers and technicians are trained and in the country there is a private university, the American University of Antigua, which is linked to the North American university system and offers medical education. Distance studies can be conducted at the University of the West Indies based in Jamaica.

FACTS – EDUCATION

Proportion of children starting primary school

79.6 percent (2017)

Number of pupils per teacher in primary school

14 (2015)

Reading and writing skills

99.0 percent (2015)

Public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP

6.9 percent (2009)

Public expenditure on education as a percentage of the state budget

6.9 percent (2009)