Share of the population with at least some formal education in Belize
Belize: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 99.9% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Belize, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, share of the population with at least some formal education in Belize stood at 99.9%. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Belize peaked at 99.9% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 9.3%, in 1870.
Belize ranks 1st of 111 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Belize, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 9.3% | — |
| 1875 | 11.7% | +25.8% |
| 1880 | 14.4% | +23.1% |
| 1885 | 17.7% | +22.9% |
| 1890 | 21.6% | +22.0% |
| 1895 | 25.9% | +19.9% |
| 1900 | 30.5% | +17.8% |
| 1905 | 41.3% | +35.4% |
| 1910 | 51.0% | +23.5% |
| 1915 | 59.2% | +16.1% |
| 1920 | 60.1% | +1.5% |
| 1925 | 65.3% | +8.7% |
| 1930 | 69.3% | +6.1% |
| 1935 | 74.4% | +7.4% |
| 1940 | 79.9% | +7.4% |
| 1945 | 84.8% | +6.1% |
| 1950 | 87.3% | +2.9% |
| 1955 | 88.6% | +1.5% |
| 1960 | 90.2% | +1.8% |
| 1965 | 90.8% | +0.7% |
| 1970 | 92.0% | +1.3% |
| 1975 | 92.4% | +0.4% |
| 1980 | 93.5% | +1.2% |
| 1985 | 91.4% | -2.2% |
| 1990 | 91.4% | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 95.0% | +3.9% |
| 2000 | 97.4% | +2.5% |
| 2005 | 98.9% | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 99.9% | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 99.9% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 99.9% | +0.0% |
Belize compared with similar countries
- Belize's 99.9% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 97.4%, 1.0× the median. (30 countries reporting)
- Belize's 99.9% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 97.1%, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of the population with at least some formal education in Belize changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1905 | +35.4% | 30.5% | 41.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 10.5% | 9.3% | 11.7% | 2 |
| 1880s | 16.1% | 14.4% | 17.7% | 2 |
| 1890s | 23.8% | 21.6% | 25.9% | 2 |
| 1900s | 35.9% | 30.5% | 41.3% | 2 |
| 1910s | 55.1% | 51.0% | 59.2% | 2 |
| 1920s | 62.7% | 60.1% | 65.3% | 2 |
| 1930s | 71.8% | 69.3% | 74.4% | 2 |
| 1940s | 82.3% | 79.9% | 84.8% | 2 |
| 1950s | 87.9% | 87.3% | 88.6% | 2 |
| 1960s | 90.5% | 90.2% | 90.8% | 2 |
| 1970s | 92.2% | 92.0% | 92.4% | 2 |
| 1980s | 92.5% | 91.4% | 93.5% | 2 |
| 1990s | 93.2% | 91.4% | 95.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 98.2% | 97.4% | 98.9% | 2 |
| 2010s | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% | 2 |
| 2020s | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Belize
More education data for Belize
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 2,319 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 2,390 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 3,316 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 3,346 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 38,323 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 44,757 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.0671 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1073 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Belize?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Belize was 99.9% 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 Belize?
- The highest recorded value was 99.9% in 2010.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Belize?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.3% in 1870.
- How does Belize rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Belize ranks 1st out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Belize?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Belize 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.