Share of the population with at least some formal education in Cambodia
Cambodia: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 87.3% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Cambodia, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Cambodia recorded 87.3% for share of the population with at least some formal education in 2020. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 8.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Cambodia peaked at 87.3% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1870.
Cambodia ranks 86th 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.
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Cambodia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 0.0% | — |
| 1875 | 0.0% | — |
| 1880 | 0.0% | — |
| 1885 | 0.0% | — |
| 1890 | 0.0% | — |
| 1895 | 0.0% | — |
| 1900 | 0.0% | — |
| 1905 | 0.0% | — |
| 1910 | 0.1% | — |
| 1915 | 0.2% | +100.0% |
| 1920 | 0.3% | +50.0% |
| 1925 | 0.4% | +33.3% |
| 1930 | 0.6% | +50.0% |
| 1935 | 0.9% | +50.0% |
| 1940 | 1.5% | +66.7% |
| 1945 | 6.4% | +326.7% |
| 1950 | 10.6% | +65.6% |
| 1955 | 15.4% | +45.3% |
| 1960 | 25.1% | +63.0% |
| 1965 | 30.7% | +22.3% |
| 1970 | 37.5% | +22.1% |
| 1975 | 44.8% | +19.5% |
| 1980 | 52.2% | +16.5% |
| 1985 | 56.9% | +9.0% |
| 1990 | 61.0% | +7.2% |
| 1995 | 65.2% | +6.9% |
| 2000 | 69.3% | +6.3% |
| 2005 | 74.7% | +7.8% |
| 2010 | 80.5% | +7.8% |
| 2015 | 84.6% | +5.1% |
| 2020 | 87.3% | +3.2% |
Cambodia compared with similar countries
- Cambodia's 87.3% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 85.2%, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Cambodia's 87.3% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 98.3%, 89% of the median. (13 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of the population with at least some formal education in Cambodia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | +326.7% | 1.5% | 6.4% |
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 | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 2 |
| 1920s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 2 |
| 1930s | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 2 |
| 1940s | 4.0% | 1.5% | 6.4% | 2 |
| 1950s | 13.0% | 10.6% | 15.4% | 2 |
| 1960s | 27.9% | 25.1% | 30.7% | 2 |
| 1970s | 41.1% | 37.5% | 44.8% | 2 |
| 1980s | 54.5% | 52.2% | 56.9% | 2 |
| 1990s | 63.1% | 61.0% | 65.2% | 2 |
| 2000s | 72.0% | 69.3% | 74.7% | 2 |
| 2010s | 82.5% | 80.5% | 84.6% | 2 |
| 2020s | 87.3% | 87.3% | 87.3% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Cambodia
More education data for Cambodia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 107,312 (2021)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 124,310 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 199,569 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 201,390 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.17 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.27 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 3.07 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1285 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Cambodia?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Cambodia was 87.3% 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 Cambodia?
- The highest recorded value was 87.3% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Cambodia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1870.
- How does Cambodia rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Cambodia ranks 86th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Cambodia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Cambodia 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.