Share of the population with at least some formal education in China
China: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 98.7% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of the population with at least some formal education in China, 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 China stood at 98.7%. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in China peaked at 98.7% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1870.
China ranks 33rd of 111 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
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 China, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 0.0% | — |
| 1875 | 0.0% | — |
| 1880 | 0.0% | — |
| 1885 | 0.1% | — |
| 1890 | 0.1% | +0.0% |
| 1895 | 0.2% | +100.0% |
| 1900 | 0.3% | +50.0% |
| 1905 | 0.5% | +66.7% |
| 1910 | 0.8% | +60.0% |
| 1915 | 1.2% | +50.0% |
| 1920 | 1.9% | +58.3% |
| 1925 | 3.5% | +84.2% |
| 1930 | 5.5% | +57.1% |
| 1935 | 7.7% | +40.0% |
| 1940 | 24.8% | +222.1% |
| 1945 | 27.4% | +10.5% |
| 1950 | 31.4% | +14.6% |
| 1955 | 38.6% | +22.9% |
| 1960 | 46.6% | +20.7% |
| 1965 | 54.9% | +17.8% |
| 1970 | 64.4% | +17.3% |
| 1975 | 71.4% | +10.9% |
| 1980 | 80.3% | +12.5% |
| 1985 | 82.0% | +2.1% |
| 1990 | 82.2% | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 88.3% | +7.4% |
| 2000 | 93.5% | +5.9% |
| 2005 | 95.8% | +2.5% |
| 2010 | 97.4% | +1.7% |
| 2015 | 98.0% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 98.7% | +0.7% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 98.7% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 97.4%, 1.0× the median. (30 countries reporting)
- China's 98.7% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 98.3%, 1.0× the median. (13 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of the population with at least some formal education in China 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | +222.1% | 7.7% | 24.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1880s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 2 |
| 1890s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 2 |
| 1900s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 2 |
| 1910s | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.2% | 2 |
| 1920s | 2.7% | 1.9% | 3.5% | 2 |
| 1930s | 6.6% | 5.5% | 7.7% | 2 |
| 1940s | 26.1% | 24.8% | 27.4% | 2 |
| 1950s | 35.0% | 31.4% | 38.6% | 2 |
| 1960s | 50.8% | 46.6% | 54.9% | 2 |
| 1970s | 67.9% | 64.4% | 71.4% | 2 |
| 1980s | 81.2% | 80.3% | 82.0% | 2 |
| 1990s | 85.2% | 82.2% | 88.3% | 2 |
| 2000s | 94.7% | 93.5% | 95.8% | 2 |
| 2010s | 97.7% | 97.4% | 98.0% | 2 |
| 2020s | 98.7% | 98.7% | 98.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near China
More education data for China
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.41 million (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 7,020 (2021)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 21.58 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 19.36 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 97.98 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 108.57 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9587 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0771 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in China?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in China was 98.7% 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 China?
- The highest recorded value was 98.7% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1870.
- How does China rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- China ranks 33rd out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this China 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.