Share of the population with at least some formal education in Benin
Benin: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 62.6% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Benin, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Benin recorded 62.6% 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 31.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Benin peaked at 62.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1870.
That places Benin 104th 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.
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Benin, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 0.0% | — |
| 1875 | 0.1% | — |
| 1880 | 0.1% | +0.0% |
| 1885 | 0.1% | +0.0% |
| 1890 | 0.1% | +0.0% |
| 1895 | 0.2% | +100.0% |
| 1900 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.3% | +50.0% |
| 1910 | 0.4% | +33.3% |
| 1915 | 0.5% | +25.0% |
| 1920 | 0.6% | +20.0% |
| 1925 | 2.1% | +250.0% |
| 1930 | 3.5% | +66.7% |
| 1935 | 4.7% | +34.3% |
| 1940 | 7.2% | +53.2% |
| 1945 | 8.3% | +15.3% |
| 1950 | 8.8% | +6.0% |
| 1955 | 10.4% | +18.2% |
| 1960 | 11.9% | +14.4% |
| 1965 | 13.3% | +11.8% |
| 1970 | 14.4% | +8.3% |
| 1975 | 15.4% | +6.9% |
| 1980 | 18.1% | +17.5% |
| 1985 | 23.2% | +28.2% |
| 1990 | 28.2% | +21.6% |
| 1995 | 33.6% | +19.1% |
| 2000 | 38.8% | +15.5% |
| 2005 | 42.4% | +9.3% |
| 2010 | 47.7% | +12.5% |
| 2015 | 55.1% | +15.5% |
| 2020 | 62.6% | +13.6% |
Benin compared with similar countries
- Benin's 62.6% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 85.2%, 73% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Benin's 62.6% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 78.0%, 80% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of the population with at least some formal education in Benin 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | +250.0% | 0.6% | 2.1% |
| 1895 | +100.0% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 2 |
| 1880s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 2 |
| 1890s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 2 |
| 1900s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 2 |
| 1910s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 2 |
| 1920s | 1.3% | 0.6% | 2.1% | 2 |
| 1930s | 4.1% | 3.5% | 4.7% | 2 |
| 1940s | 7.8% | 7.2% | 8.3% | 2 |
| 1950s | 9.6% | 8.8% | 10.4% | 2 |
| 1960s | 12.6% | 11.9% | 13.3% | 2 |
| 1970s | 14.9% | 14.4% | 15.4% | 2 |
| 1980s | 20.6% | 18.1% | 23.2% | 2 |
| 1990s | 30.9% | 28.2% | 33.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 40.6% | 38.8% | 42.4% | 2 |
| 2010s | 51.4% | 47.7% | 55.1% | 2 |
| 2020s | 62.6% | 62.6% | 62.6% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Benin
- 101 Afghanistan 66.1% compare
- 102 Sierra Leone 64.9% compare
- 103 Liberia 64.0% compare
- 105 Yemen 62.0% compare
- 106 Senegal 58.0% compare
- 107 Mozambique 54.5% compare
More education data for Benin
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 57,296 (2022)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 209,295 (2022)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 85,495 (2022)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 84,746 (2022)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 929,099 (2022)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.40 million (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 5.18 % change on previous year (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1743 units per person (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Benin?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Benin was 62.6% 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 Benin?
- The highest recorded value was 62.6% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Benin?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1870.
- How does Benin rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Benin ranks 104th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Benin?
- Over the last ten years it is up 31.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Benin 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.