El Salvador vs South Africa: Share of population with no formal education

El Salvador
1.8%
in 2020
South Africa
1.9%
in 2020
El Salvador rank
71st
South Africa rank
68th

Share of population with no formal education over time

  • El Salvador
  • South Africa
020406080100187019452020

How they compare

South Africa currently reports 1.9% against 1.8% in El Salvador, a difference of 0.1%.

That makes South Africa's figure about 1.1 times El Salvador's.

The two have swapped places 3 times across 31 shared years of data; in 1870 it was El Salvador ahead.

El Salvador ranks 71st and South Africa ranks 68th of 111 countries.

Across the 16 decades both report, El Salvador averaged higher in 13 and South Africa in 3.

Head to head by decade

Decade El Salvador South Africa Difference Ahead
1870s 93.8% 86.4% 7.3% El Salvador
1880s 90.7% 81.0% 9.7% El Salvador
1890s 86.6% 76.8% 9.8% El Salvador
1900s 79.5% 78.5% 1.1% El Salvador
1910s 73.7% 76.5% 2.8% South Africa
1920s 70.7% 65.2% 5.5% El Salvador
1930s 68.9% 58.2% 10.7% El Salvador
1940s 67.9% 52.9% 15.0% El Salvador
1950s 62.3% 47.7% 14.6% El Salvador
1960s 53.2% 43.0% 10.2% El Salvador
1970s 41.1% 33.8% 7.3% El Salvador
1980s 32.1% 21.3% 10.8% El Salvador
1990s 25.2% 7.4% 17.8% El Salvador
2000s 14.8% 11.1% 3.7% El Salvador
2010s 2.8% 3.5% 0.7% South Africa
2020s 1.8% 1.9% 0.1% South Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher share of population with no formal education, El Salvador or South Africa?
South Africa, at 1.9% against 1.8% in El Salvador as of 2020.
What is the difference in share of population with no formal education between El Salvador and South Africa?
0.1%, with South Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for El Salvador and South Africa?
31 years are reported by both, from 1870 to 2020.
How do El Salvador and South Africa rank globally for share of population with no formal education?
El Salvador ranks 71st and South Africa ranks 68th of 111 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of population with no formal education. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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El Salvador vs South Africa: Share of population with no formal education. Statizoid, drawing on Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/compare/share-of-population-15-years-and-older-with-no-education/el-salvador/south-africa/

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<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/compare/share-of-population-15-years-and-older-with-no-education/el-salvador/south-africa/">El Salvador vs South Africa: Share of population with no formal education</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Share of population with no formal education
Unit
%
Source
Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
111 places, 3,441 data points, 1870–2020
Last refreshed

The share of adults aged between 15 and 64 years old with no formal education.