Education in Panama

Education in Panama is compulsory for the first six years of primary education and the first three years of secondary school.^[1][2] As of the 2004/2005 school year there were about 430,000 students enrolled in grades one through six (95% attendance).^[1] The total enrollment in the six secondary grades for the same period was 253,900 (60% attendance).^[1] More than 91% of Panamanians are literate.^[1]

As of 2004, more than 92,500 Panamanian students attended the University of Panama, the Technological University of Panama, West Coast University – Panama, Polytechnic University of Central America and the University of Santa Maria La Antigua, a private Catholic institution.^[1] Including smaller colleges, there are 88 institutions of higher education in Panama.^[1]