Ethiopia’s Grade 12 Results Show Sharp Divide Between Addis Ababa and Regional States

August 24, 2026
By Mintesinot Nigussie

Ethiopia’s latest Grade 12 national examination results have exposed a sharp gap in performance between the capital and several of the country’s regional states, with Addis Ababa recording a pass rate of 32 percent, compared with 10.5 percent in Oromia.

The results, announced by Education Minister Berhanu Nega, showed that 70,544 students achieved the minimum score required to pass the examination, equivalent to 12.8 percent of those who sat for the test. The national pass rate was up from 8.9 percent a year earlier.

About 550,000 students took the examination, out of 563,000 who had registered.

Addis Ababa produced about 18,000 successful candidates, while Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest regional state, recorded about 20,000 students who passed. The larger number of successful candidates in Oromia reflects its substantially larger student population, while its pass rate remained less than a third of that recorded in the capital.

About 15,500 students passed in Amhara, while Tigray recorded 3,146 successful candidates.

The figures highlight substantial differences in educational outcomes across the country, although the ministry did not provide comparable pass rates for all regional states in its announcement.

Results also varied widely between schools. Eighty-eight schools recorded a 100 percent pass rate, while 565 schools did not produce a single student who achieved the minimum required score.

The number of schools with no successful candidates, however, fell sharply from 1,249 in the previous year. The ministry said 684 schools that had failed to produce a single passing student last year managed to have at least one student pass this year.

The highest score in the natural sciences stream was 591, achieved by a male student from Adama, followed by a score of 583 by a female student from Agaw.

In the social sciences stream, the highest score was 576, achieved by a male student from Dodola. A female student from Addis Ababa recorded the second-highest score of 569.

Source: FSX Business News