Share of the population with at least some formal education in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 78.1% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Bangladesh, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of the population with at least some formal education in Bangladesh is 78.1%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
That represents a change of up 12.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Bangladesh peaked at 78.1% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 1870.
That places Bangladesh 95th out of 111 countries with data for 2020, putting it 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 | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 2 |
| 1880s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 2 |
| 1890s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.8% | 2 |
| 1900s | 2.8% | 1.1% | 4.6% | 2 |
| 1910s | 9.1% | 7.9% | 10.3% | 2 |
| 1920s | 11.6% | 10.6% | 12.5% | 2 |
| 1930s | 15.4% | 14.5% | 16.3% | 2 |
| 1940s | 19.2% | 18.3% | 20.2% | 2 |
| 1950s | 21.9% | 21.8% | 22.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 22.7% | 22.5% | 22.9% | 2 |
| 1970s | 22.8% | 22.2% | 23.3% | 2 |
| 1980s | 37.6% | 33.9% | 41.3% | 2 |
| 1990s | 47.1% | 44.7% | 49.5% | 2 |
| 2000s | 59.9% | 57.4% | 62.4% | 2 |
| 2010s | 71.8% | 69.6% | 74.1% | 2 |
| 2020s | 78.1% | 78.1% | 78.1% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Bangladesh
More education data for Bangladesh
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 65.7% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 27.6% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 11 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 106.5% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 383,624 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 2.14 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 113.1% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Bangladesh?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Bangladesh was 78.1% 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 Bangladesh?
- The highest recorded value was 78.1% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Bangladesh?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 1870.
- How does Bangladesh rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Bangladesh ranks 95th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Bangladesh?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Bangladesh 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.