France vs United States of America: Share of the world's population with formal basic education

France
1.4%
in 2020
United States of America
0.9%
in 2020
France rank
12th
United States of America rank
15th

Share of the world's population with formal basic education over time

  • France
  • United States of America
1234195019852020

How they compare

France currently reports 1.4% against 0.9% in United States of America, a difference of 0.5%.

That makes France's figure about 1.6 times United States of America's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was United States of America ahead.

France ranks 12th and United States of America ranks 15th of 25 countries.

Across the 8 decades both report, France averaged higher in 7 and United States of America in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade France United States of America Difference Ahead
1950s 3.0% 3.9% 0.9% United States of America
1960s 3.1% 2.8% 0.3% France
1970s 2.9% 2.1% 0.8% France
1980s 2.7% 1.8% 0.9% France
1990s 2.3% 1.5% 0.8% France
2000s 2.0% 1.3% 0.7% France
2010s 1.6% 1.1% 0.5% France
2020s 1.4% 0.9% 0.5% France

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher share of the world's population with formal basic education, France or United States of America?
France, at 1.4% against 0.9% in United States of America as of 2020.
What is the difference in share of the world's population with formal basic education between France and United States of America?
0.5%, with France ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for France and United States of America?
15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
How do France and United States of America rank globally for share of the world's population with formal basic education?
France ranks 12th and United States of America ranks 15th of 25 countries.
Where does this data come from?
World Bank (2024); van Zanden, J. et al.; Wittgenstein Centre (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of the world's population with formal basic education. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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France vs United States of America: Share of the world's population with formal basic education. Statizoid, drawing on World Bank (2024); van Zanden, J. et al.; Wittgenstein Centre (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 31 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/compare/share-of-the-world-population-with-at-least-basic-education/france/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of the world's population with formal basic education
Unit
%
Source
World Bank (2024); van Zanden, J. et al.; Wittgenstein Centre (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
25 places, 375 data points, 1950–2020
Last refreshed

Share of people aged 15 or older who have not received some kind of formal primary, secondary, or tertiary education.