Cambodia
Last updated December 1, 2025
Composite GEFRI Score
Severely underprepared
Cambodia is severely underprepared (29th percentile worldwide). Key structural conditions limit capacity to plan, implement, and sustain forward-looking reforms. Higher scores indicate a system that is better prepared to anticipate and shape the future of learning.
- Global percentile
- 29th
- Global rank
- #126
- Regional rank
- #20
- Viewing data for
Country profile
Cambodia trails global peers in Human Capital (31, 18th percentile) and Governance (30, 20th percentile). A coordinated reform effort is needed to strengthen education futures readiness.
Uneven scores across dimensions highlight areas that need targeted coordination. Literacy or tertiary enrollment gaps thin the talent pipeline and limit the country’s capacity to develop future-ready skills.
Sparse R&D investment and a small research workforce slow experimentation and delay new ideas from reaching learners. Policy execution and regulatory capacity remain weak, leaving reforms fragmented and hard to sustain. Girls outperform boys in secondary pathways, adding pressure to address male dropout risks.
Regionally, School Access and Gender Parity lags peers the most, signalling where investment could have the highest impact.
Note: Most indicators rely on observed data, offering a dependable evidence base for decisions.
Key insights
- Falls below many peers at the 29th percentile.
- Places 126th worldwide.
- Holds a regional position of 20th within East Asia & Pacific.
- Scores range from Infrastructure (56.7) to Access & Parity (16.9), reflecting variation across dimensions.
- Trails regional peers most clearly in Access & Parity.
Regional peers: East Asia & Pacific
Composite GEFRI score
| Global rank | Regional rank | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | Korea, Rep. | 79.60 |
| 3 | 2 | Singapore | 78.63 |
| 5 | 3 | Hong Kong SAR, China | 77.86 |
| 11 | 4 | Japan | 76.54 |
| 14 | 5 | Australia | 76.14 |
| 19 | 6 | New Zealand | 73.28 |
| — | — | Northern Mariana IslandsMicrostate | 61.56 |
| 48 | 7 | Brunei Darussalam | 61.48 |
| 49 | 8 | Thailand | 61.30 |
| — | — | New CaledoniaMicrostate | 61.09 |
| 52 | 9 | Indonesia | 60.44 |
| — | — | NauruMicrostate | 59.95 |
| — | — | GuamMicrostate | 59.92 |
| — | — | PalauMicrostate | 59.64 |
| — | — | American SamoaMicrostate | 59.42 |
| — | — | French PolynesiaMicrostate | 59.20 |
| 59 | 10 | Macao SAR, China | 58.71 |
| 63 | 11 | Viet Nam | 57.39 |
| 69 | 12 | Fiji | 56.40 |
| 70 | 13 | Mongolia | 56.30 |
| 71 | 14 | Malaysia | 56.21 |
| 73 | 15 | China | 55.14 |
| 82 | 16 | Philippines | 52.74 |
| — | — | TuvaluFCSMicrostate | 51.67 |
| — | — | SamoaMicrostate | 50.98 |
| — | — | TongaMicrostate | 49.06 |
| — | — | KiribatiFCSMicrostate | 46.78 |
| — | — | Marshall IslandsFCSMicrostate | 46.17 |
| 107 | 17 | Timor-LesteFCS | 44.20 |
| — | — | Micronesia, Fed. Sts.FCSMicrostate | 42.51 |
| 112 | 18 | Vanuatu | 41.00 |
| 122 | 19 | Korea, Dem. People's Rep. | 36.64 |
| 126 | 20 | Cambodia | 35.43 |
| 129 | 21 | MyanmarFCS | 33.80 |
| 134 | 22 | Solomon IslandsFCS | 32.22 |
| 138 | 23 | Lao PDR | 31.38 |
| 145 | 24 | Papua New GuineaFCS | 28.17 |