Share of the population with at least some formal education in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 69.3% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 69.3% 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 21.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 69.3% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1870.
That places Democratic Republic of Congo 99th 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 Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 0.0% | — |
| 1875 | 0.0% | — |
| 1880 | 0.0% | — |
| 1885 | 0.0% | — |
| 1890 | 0.0% | — |
| 1895 | 0.0% | — |
| 1900 | 0.3% | — |
| 1905 | 0.6% | +100.0% |
| 1910 | 0.8% | +33.3% |
| 1915 | 6.0% | +650.0% |
| 1920 | 6.3% | +5.0% |
| 1925 | 6.7% | +6.3% |
| 1930 | 7.7% | +14.9% |
| 1935 | 8.8% | +14.3% |
| 1940 | 10.7% | +21.6% |
| 1945 | 12.2% | +14.0% |
| 1950 | 15.2% | +24.6% |
| 1955 | 18.6% | +22.4% |
| 1960 | 22.4% | +20.4% |
| 1965 | 26.5% | +18.3% |
| 1970 | 31.1% | +17.4% |
| 1975 | 36.8% | +18.3% |
| 1980 | 43.3% | +17.7% |
| 1985 | 49.0% | +13.2% |
| 1990 | 54.0% | +10.2% |
| 1995 | 57.0% | +5.6% |
| 2000 | 56.1% | -1.6% |
| 2005 | 56.9% | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 57.1% | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 63.4% | +11.0% |
| 2020 | 69.3% | +9.3% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 69.3% is above the median for low income countries, which is 64.0%, 1.1× the median. (13 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 69.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 78.0%, 89% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of the population with at least some formal education in Democratic Republic of Congo 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | +650.0% | 0.8% | 6.0% |
| 1905 | +100.0% | 0.3% | 0.6% |
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 | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 2 |
| 1910s | 3.4% | 0.8% | 6.0% | 2 |
| 1920s | 6.5% | 6.3% | 6.7% | 2 |
| 1930s | 8.2% | 7.7% | 8.8% | 2 |
| 1940s | 11.4% | 10.7% | 12.2% | 2 |
| 1950s | 16.9% | 15.2% | 18.6% | 2 |
| 1960s | 24.4% | 22.4% | 26.5% | 2 |
| 1970s | 34.0% | 31.1% | 36.8% | 2 |
| 1980s | 46.1% | 43.3% | 49.0% | 2 |
| 1990s | 55.5% | 54.0% | 57.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 56.5% | 56.1% | 56.9% | 2 |
| 2010s | 60.2% | 57.1% | 63.4% | 2 |
| 2020s | 69.3% | 69.3% | 69.3% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
- 96 Togo 78.0% compare
- 97 Morocco 71.8% compare
- 98 Cote d'Ivoire 70.7% compare
- 100 Pakistan 68.6% compare
- 101 Afghanistan 66.1% compare
- 102 Sierra Leone 64.9% compare
More education data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 621,578 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 1.99 million (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 410,532 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 427,300 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 7.93 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 21.15 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 7.35 % change on previous year (2021)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1999 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Democratic Republic of Congo was 69.3% 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 Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 69.3% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1870.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 99th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 21.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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.