Inequality in education in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Inequality in education was 0.0316 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Inequality in education in United Kingdom, 2010–2023
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for inequality in education in United Kingdom is 0.0316, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of up 30.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, inequality in education in United Kingdom peaked at 0.0319 in 2014 and was at its lowest, 0.0242, in 2011.
United Kingdom ranks 158th of 184 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 0.0284 | 0.0242 | 0.0319 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0316 | 0.0316 | 0.0316 | 4 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
- 155 Bahamas 0.034 compare
- 156 Kyrgyzstan 0.0336 compare
- 157 Kazakhstan 0.0317 compare
- 159 Croatia 0.03 compare
- 160 Turkmenistan 0.0294 compare
- 161 Armenia 0.0293 compare
More education data for United Kingdom
- Duration of pre-primary education 2 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 63.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 17.0% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 11 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 5 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 102.2% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 281,128 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.55 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 102.1% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is inequality in education in United Kingdom?
- Inequality in education in United Kingdom was 0.0316 in 2023, according to UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest inequality in education recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 0.0319 in 2014.
- What is the lowest inequality in education recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0242 in 2011.
- How does United Kingdom rank for inequality in education?
- United Kingdom ranks 158th out of 184 countries with data for 2023.
- Is inequality in education rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 30.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
- The figures come from UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Inequality in education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The Atkinson index measures inequality on a scale from 0 to 1. Higher values indicate higher inequality. Inequality is measured here in terms of the number of years adults older than 25 participated in formal education.