Share of the population with at least some formal education in Chile
Chile: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 99.0% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Chile, 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 Chile is 99.0%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Chile peaked at 99.0% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 9.6%, in 1870.
That places Chile 23rd out of 111 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
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 Chile, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 9.6% | — |
| 1875 | 11.4% | +18.8% |
| 1880 | 12.8% | +12.3% |
| 1885 | 14.0% | +9.4% |
| 1890 | 14.9% | +6.4% |
| 1895 | 15.9% | +6.7% |
| 1900 | 30.4% | +91.2% |
| 1905 | 34.9% | +14.8% |
| 1910 | 41.5% | +18.9% |
| 1915 | 49.9% | +20.2% |
| 1920 | 58.5% | +17.2% |
| 1925 | 65.3% | +11.6% |
| 1930 | 69.0% | +5.7% |
| 1935 | 74.4% | +7.8% |
| 1940 | 77.4% | +4.0% |
| 1945 | 78.8% | +1.8% |
| 1950 | 80.4% | +2.0% |
| 1955 | 81.3% | +1.1% |
| 1960 | 82.8% | +1.8% |
| 1965 | 87.1% | +5.2% |
| 1970 | 91.2% | +4.7% |
| 1975 | 93.1% | +2.1% |
| 1980 | 94.1% | +1.1% |
| 1985 | 95.5% | +1.5% |
| 1990 | 96.3% | +0.8% |
| 1995 | 96.2% | -0.1% |
| 2000 | 96.6% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 97.4% | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 98.6% | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 98.9% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 99.0% | +0.1% |
Chile compared with similar countries
- Chile's 99.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 99.0%, 1.0× the median. (41 countries reporting)
- Chile's 99.0% 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 Chile 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | +91.2% | 15.9% | 30.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 10.5% | 9.6% | 11.4% | 2 |
| 1880s | 13.4% | 12.8% | 14.0% | 2 |
| 1890s | 15.4% | 14.9% | 15.9% | 2 |
| 1900s | 32.6% | 30.4% | 34.9% | 2 |
| 1910s | 45.7% | 41.5% | 49.9% | 2 |
| 1920s | 61.9% | 58.5% | 65.3% | 2 |
| 1930s | 71.7% | 69.0% | 74.4% | 2 |
| 1940s | 78.1% | 77.4% | 78.8% | 2 |
| 1950s | 80.8% | 80.4% | 81.3% | 2 |
| 1960s | 84.9% | 82.8% | 87.1% | 2 |
| 1970s | 92.2% | 91.2% | 93.1% | 2 |
| 1980s | 94.8% | 94.1% | 95.5% | 2 |
| 1990s | 96.2% | 96.2% | 96.3% | 2 |
| 2000s | 97.0% | 96.6% | 97.4% | 2 |
| 2010s | 98.8% | 98.6% | 98.9% | 2 |
| 2020s | 99.0% | 99.0% | 99.0% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Chile
More education data for Chile
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 96,048 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 21,633 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 280,113 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 264,101 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.63 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.49 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.36 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0754 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Chile?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Chile was 99.0% 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 Chile?
- The highest recorded value was 99.0% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Chile?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.6% in 1870.
- How does Chile rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Chile ranks 23rd out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Chile?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Chile 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.