China vs Indonesia: Share of the population with tertiary education

China
8.7%
in 2020
Indonesia
8.1%
in 2020
China rank
69th
Indonesia rank
71st

Share of the population with tertiary education over time

  • China
  • Indonesia
02468187019452020

How they compare

China currently reports 8.7% against 8.1% in Indonesia, a difference of 0.6%.

That makes China's figure about 1.1 times Indonesia's.

The two have swapped places 5 times across 31 shared years of data; in 1870 it was Indonesia ahead.

China ranks 69th and Indonesia ranks 71st of 111 countries.

Across the 16 decades both report, China averaged higher in 9 and Indonesia in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade China Indonesia Difference Ahead
1870s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
1880s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
1890s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
1900s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
1910s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
1920s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
1930s 0.1% 0.0% 0.1% China
1940s 0.1% 0.0% 0.1% China
1950s 0.3% 0.1% 0.3% China
1960s 0.8% 0.2% 0.6% China
1970s 1.1% 0.6% 0.6% China
1980s 1.3% 1.1% 0.2% China
1990s 2.7% 2.5% 0.2% China
2000s 4.4% 3.8% 0.6% China
2010s 4.7% 8.1% 3.4% Indonesia
2020s 8.7% 8.1% 0.6% China

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher share of the population with tertiary education, China or Indonesia?
China, at 8.7% against 8.1% in Indonesia as of 2020.
What is the difference in share of the population with tertiary education between China and Indonesia?
0.6%, with China ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China and Indonesia?
31 years are reported by both, from 1870 to 2020.
How do China and Indonesia rank globally for share of the population with tertiary education?
China ranks 69th and Indonesia ranks 71st 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 the population with tertiary education. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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China vs Indonesia: Share of the population with tertiary education. Statizoid, drawing on Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 30 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/compare/share-of-the-population-with-completed-tertiary-education/china/indonesia/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of the population with tertiary 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

Percentage of the population aged 25 to 65 years who have either completed or partially completed tertiary education.