HIV and Sexuality Education in Upper Secondary Schools by Country (High School Level, 2026)

Life skills-based HIV and sexuality education in upper secondary schools (high school level) provides comprehensive instruction on sexual health, relationships, and HIV prevention for older adolescents. This indicator tracks the percentage of upper secondary schools that provide structured HIV and sexuality education programs as part of their curriculum, following UNESCO SDG 4.7.2 definitions.

Understanding HIV Education in Upper Secondary Schools (High School Level)

Life skills-based HIV and sexuality education in upper secondary schools (high school level) addresses the needs of older adolescents preparing for adulthood. Programs cover comprehensive sexual health topics including contraception, STI prevention, consent and sexual rights, healthy relationships, gender equality, and decision-making in intimate contexts. This education level provides the most detailed and mature content, preparing students for adult sexual health responsibilities.

The dataset includes 81 countries with measurable coverage at the upper secondary education level. Over 55 countries achieve universal or near-universal coverage (95-100%), reflecting widespread recognition of the importance of comprehensive sexuality education for older adolescents. However, disparities remain, with some countries showing coverage below 20%, indicating ongoing challenges in implementing upper secondary school programs.

HIV and Sexuality Education in Upper Secondary Schools by Country (High School Level, 2026)

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#	Country	2026 Projection (%)
1	Aruba AW	100%
2	Andorra AD	100%
3	Armenia AM	100%
4	Bahrain BH	100%
5	Cook Islands CK	100%
6	Cuba CU	100%
7	Cayman Islands KY	100%
8	Dominica DM	100%
9	Ecuador EC	100%
10	Eritrea ER	100%
11	Finland FI	100%
12	Fiji FJ	100%
13	Gibraltar GI	100%
14	Guyana GY	100%
15	Hong Kong HK	100%
16	India IN	100%
17	Jamaica JM	100%
18	Kiribati KI	100%
19	Saint Kitts and Nevis KN	100%
20	Kuwait KW	100%
21	Saint Lucia LC	100%
22	Sri Lanka LK	100%
23	Macau MO	100%
24	Monaco MC	100%
25	Mongolia MN	100%
26	Malawi MW	100%
27	Malaysia MY	100%
28	Niue NU	100%
29	Oman OM	100%
30	Philippines PH	100%
31	Palau PW	100%
32	Papua New Guinea PG	100%
33	Qatar QA	100%
34	Rwanda RW	100%
35	Saudi Arabia SA	100%
36	San Marino SM	100%
37	Syria SY	100%
38	Turks and Caicos Islands TC	100%
39	Thailand TH	100%
40	Turkmenistan TM	100%
41	Tonga TO	100%
42	Tuvalu TV	100%
43	Uruguay UY	100%
44	British Virgin Islands VG	100%
45	Samoa WS	100%
46	Zimbabwe ZW	100%
47	Cape Verde CV	100%
48	Azerbaijan AZ	99.1%
49	Namibia NA	98.9%
50	Uzbekistan UZ	98.7%
51	China CN	93.7%
52	Palestine PS	93.5%
53	Singapore SG	91.8%
54	Kyrgyzstan KG	91.2%
55	Seychelles SC	87.5%
56	Cameroon CM	83.9%
57	Albania AL	82.3%
58	Vietnam VN	73.5%
59	Tanzania TZ	69.5%
60	Nicaragua NI	61.5%
61	DR Congo CD	59.8%
62	Venezuela VE	56.4%
63	Gambia GM	51%
64	Bangladesh BD	47.8%
65	Micronesia FM	42.3%
66	Sierra Leone SL	38.5%
67	Costa Rica CR	37.2%
68	Grenada GD	24%
69	Ivory Coast CI	20.8%
70	Timor-Leste TL	19.7%
71	Senegal SN	19.5%
72	Liberia LR	19.4%
73	Burkina Faso BF	18.8%
74	Eswatini SZ	15.4%
75	Nepal NP	12.6%
76	Niger NE	6.1%
77	Egypt EG	3.8%
78	Togo TG	1.3%
79	Botswana BW	1.2%
80	Mauritius MU	0.5%
81	Nauru NR	0.5%
82	Tokelau TK	0.5%

Coverage Patterns Across Education Levels

Upper secondary school coverage rates often mirror lower secondary patterns but with some notable differences. Countries like China show 93.6% upper secondary coverage compared to 96.7% lower secondary coverage, suggesting slightly lower implementation at the upper secondary level. Conversely, DR Congo shows 59.8% upper secondary coverage versus 33.9% lower secondary coverage, indicating prioritization of older adolescents.

Universal coverage countries span diverse regions and income levels. Gulf states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia), Asian economies (India, Malaysia, Mongolia), Caribbean nations (Aruba, Anguilla, Cayman Islands), and Pacific islands (Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Tuvalu) all achieve 100% coverage. This demonstrates that comprehensive sexuality education for older adolescents enjoys broad political and social acceptance across different cultural contexts.

Countries with low coverage face similar barriers across all education levels. Togo (1.3%), Egypt (3.8%), and Burkina Faso (16.6%) show persistently low rates from elementary through high school, reflecting systemic challenges rather than level-specific issues. These countries require comprehensive policy reform and resource allocation to establish effective sexuality education programs.

Age-Appropriate Content and Implementation

High school programs typically include more explicit and detailed content than lower levels, covering topics like contraceptive methods, sexual orientation and gender identity, abortion, and sexual pleasure. This comprehensive approach reflects international guidelines recommending age-appropriate, progressive sexuality education that builds knowledge and skills across all school levels.

HIV and Sexuality Education in Upper Secondary Schools by Country (High School Level, 2026)

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#	Country	2020 (%)	2021 (%)	2022 (%)	2023 (%)	2024 (%)	2025 (%)	2026 Projection (%)
1	Aruba	-	-	-	-	100%	-	100%
2	Andorra	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
3	Armenia	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
4	Bahrain	100%	-	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
5	Cook Islands	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
6	Cuba	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
7	Cayman Islands	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
8	Dominica	100%	100%	100%	-	-	-	100%
9	Ecuador	-	-	-	-	100%	-	100%
10	Eritrea	-	-	100%	-	-	-	100%
11	Finland	100%	100%	-	-	-	-	100%
12	Fiji	-	-	-	100%	100%	-	100%
13	Gibraltar	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
14	Guyana	-	-	-	100%	100%	-	100%
15	Hong Kong	95.3%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
16	India	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
17	Jamaica	-	-	-	100%	-	-	100%
18	Kiribati	-	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
19	Saint Kitts and Nevis	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
20	Kuwait	100%	100%	-	-	-	-	100%
21	Saint Lucia	100%	-	100%	100%	-	-	100%
22	Sri Lanka	66%	-	91.3%	100%	-	-	100%
23	Macau	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
24	Monaco	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
25	Mongolia	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
26	Malawi	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	-	100%
27	Malaysia	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
28	Niue	100%	-	-	100%	100%	100%	100%
29	Oman	99.1%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
30	Philippines	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
31	Palau	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	-	100%
32	Papua New Guinea	-	-	100%	100%	-	-	100%
33	Qatar	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
34	Rwanda	-	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
35	Saudi Arabia	100%	100%	100%	-	100%	-	100%
36	San Marino	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
37	Syria	93.4%	93.4%	93.5%	100%	100%	-	100%
38	Turks and Caicos Islands	-	-	100%	100%	-	-	100%
39	Thailand	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
40	Turkmenistan	100%	-	-	-	-	-	100%
41	Tonga	-	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
42	Tuvalu	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
43	Uruguay	100%	-	100%	-	-	-	100%
44	British Virgin Islands	-	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
45	Samoa	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
46	Zimbabwe	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	-	100%
47	Cape Verde	-	-	100%	-	-	-	100%
48	Azerbaijan	-	-	-	100%	99.3%	-	99.1%
49	Namibia	100%	96.5%	97.3%	97.2%	98.6%	-	98.9%
50	Uzbekistan	99.1%	99.2%	99.2%	99.2%	99.2%	98.8%	98.7%
51	China	87.7%	90.4%	93.2%	93.5%	93.6%	-	93.7%
52	Palestine	94.8%	94.7%	94.8%	93.9%	-	-	93.5%
53	Singapore	88.9%	90.6%	90.1%	91.3%	-	-	91.8%
54	Kyrgyzstan	90.4%	90.6%	90.7%	90.7%	91%	91.2%	91.2%
55	Seychelles	87.5%	87.5%	87.5%	87.5%	87.5%	-	87.5%
56	Cameroon	-	-	79.6%	82.3%	-	-	83.9%
57	Albania	89.4%	84.9%	-	-	-	-	82.3%
58	Vietnam	-	69.9%	70.6%	72.9%	73.3%	-	73.5%
59	Tanzania	65.5%	67.7%	-	-	-	-	69.5%
60	Nicaragua	-	-	61.5%	-	-	-	61.5%
61	DR Congo	-	59.8%	-	-	-	-	59.8%
62	Venezuela	-	-	0.9%	-	53.4%	-	56.4%
63	Gambia	-	-	48.6%	48.9%	50.4%	50.7%	51%
64	Bangladesh	-	-	-	76.8%	60.7%	-	47.8%
65	Micronesia	-	60%	60%	35.9%	39.5%	-	42.3%
66	Sierra Leone	53.8%	39%	41%	38%	38.3%	-	38.5%
67	Costa Rica	37.2%	-	-	-	-	-	37.2%
68	Grenada	-	-	-	20%	22.2%	-	24%
69	Ivory Coast	44.7%	55.3%	57.4%	69.2%	42.3%	-	20.8%
70	Timor-Leste	-	-	-	19.7%	-	-	19.7%
71	Senegal	-	-	-	-	19.5%	-	19.5%
72	Liberia	-	58.7%	36.9%	-	-	-	19.4%
73	Burkina Faso	15.8%	14.2%	-	13.9%	16.6%	-	18.8%
74	Eswatini	-	-	15.8%	15.5%	-	-	15.4%
75	Nepal	-	29.5%	20.1%	-	-	-	12.6%
76	Niger	-	100%	-	84.6%	41%	-	6.1%
77	Egypt	-	-	-	-	3.8%	-	3.8%
78	Togo	-	1.3%	-	-	-	-	1.3%
79	Botswana	-	88%	39.8%	-	-	-	1.2%
80	Mauritius	-	0%	-	0%	0%	-	0.5%
81	Nauru	100%	-	0%	0%	0%	-	0.5%
82	Tokelau	0%	0%	-	0%	-	-	0.5%

Methodology

This evaluation analyzes HIV and sexuality education coverage in upper secondary schools (high school level, ISCED Level 3) across 81 countries using data from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) spanning 2020-2025, with 2026 projections following SDG 4.7.2 indicator definitions.

Data Source and Processing: The source data was obtained from UNESCO UIS database for SDG Indicator 4.7.2 (percentage of schools providing life skills-based HIV and sexuality education), specifically for upper secondary education (ISCED Level 3). From the raw dataset, we excluded: (1) countries reporting "Magnitude Nil Or Negligible" as these indicate no measurable program implementation, (2) regional aggregates and country groups (keeping only individual countries with 3-letter ISO codes), and (3) data points from before 2020 to focus on recent implementation trends.

Latest Year Data (CSV DATA section): For each country, we selected the most recent available coverage percentage from years 2020-2025. If a country had multiple data points, only the latest year was used for the single-year CSV. This represents the most current snapshot of upper secondary school HIV education coverage.

Multi-Year Data (MTABLE CSV DATA section): For countries with data from multiple years between 2020-2025, all available years are presented to show implementation trends over time. This allows readers to see whether coverage is increasing, stable, or declining.

2026 Projections: Projections were developed through manual analysis of each country's recent trends (2020-2025 data), policy environment, and implementation context. No automatic formulas were used. Each projection considered: (1) the country's latest coverage rate, (2) recent trend direction (increasing, stable, or declining), (3) implementation momentum, and (4) saturation effects for countries already at high coverage. Countries at or near 100% coverage maintain current levels as these represent full implementation. Countries showing consistent growth were projected with modest continued increases while respecting realistic constraints. Countries with declining trends were projected to stabilize or show minimal further decline. Countries with very low coverage (<5%) were projected conservatively.

Data Interpretation: Coverage rates indicate the proportion of upper secondary schools offering structured HIV and sexuality education programs. A 100% rate signifies universal provision across all upper secondary schools, while lower percentages indicate partial implementation. The data does not evaluate program quality, curriculum comprehensiveness, or teaching effectiveness.

Data Limitations: The data reflects official government reporting to UNESCO and may not capture alternative education programs, vocational schools, or community-based initiatives outside the formal upper secondary school system. Country names have been standardized for consistency (e.g., "DR Congo" for Democratic Republic of the Congo, "Ivory Coast" for Côte d'Ivoire).