Share of the population with at least some formal education in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 66.1% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Afghanistan, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Afghanistan recorded 66.1% for share of the population with at least some formal education in 2020. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
The figure is up 52.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Afghanistan peaked at 66.1% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1870.
Afghanistan ranks 101st of 111 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1880s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1890s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1900s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1910s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 2 |
| 1920s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 2 |
| 1930s | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2 |
| 1940s | 4.8% | 4.7% | 5.0% | 2 |
| 1950s | 5.8% | 5.5% | 6.1% | 2 |
| 1960s | 7.8% | 7.2% | 8.3% | 2 |
| 1970s | 13.3% | 11.7% | 14.9% | 2 |
| 1980s | 21.1% | 18.8% | 23.3% | 2 |
| 1990s | 27.1% | 26.2% | 28.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 34.7% | 33.6% | 35.7% | 2 |
| 2010s | 50.0% | 43.3% | 56.7% | 2 |
| 2020s | 66.1% | 66.1% | 66.1% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
- 98 Cote d'Ivoire 70.7% compare
- 99 Democratic Republic of Congo 69.3% compare
- 100 Pakistan 68.6% compare
- 102 Sierra Leone 64.9% compare
- 103 Liberia 64.0% compare
- 104 Benin 62.6% compare
More education data for Afghanistan
- Duration of pre-primary education 1 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 6 years (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 42.6% (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 55.0% (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 112.2% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 163,167 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 4.76 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 97.9% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Afghanistan?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Afghanistan was 66.1% in 2020, according to Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 66.1% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1870.
- How does Afghanistan rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Afghanistan ranks 101st out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 52.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
- The figures come from Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population with at least some formal education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Based on the population aged 15 years and older.