Share of the population with at least some formal education in Cuba
Cuba: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 98.0% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Cuba, 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 Cuba stood at 98.0%. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Cuba peaked at 98.0% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 3.2%, in 1870.
That places Cuba 45th out of 111 countries with data for 2020, putting it 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 Cuba, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 3.2% | — |
| 1875 | 4.0% | +25.0% |
| 1880 | 5.0% | +25.0% |
| 1885 | 6.3% | +26.0% |
| 1890 | 8.1% | +28.6% |
| 1895 | 10.9% | +34.6% |
| 1900 | 20.0% | +83.5% |
| 1905 | 32.0% | +60.0% |
| 1910 | 37.6% | +17.5% |
| 1915 | 47.1% | +25.3% |
| 1920 | 52.1% | +10.6% |
| 1925 | 58.7% | +12.7% |
| 1930 | 65.7% | +11.9% |
| 1935 | 69.6% | +5.9% |
| 1940 | 72.3% | +3.9% |
| 1945 | 74.2% | +2.6% |
| 1950 | 76.2% | +2.7% |
| 1955 | 77.3% | +1.4% |
| 1960 | 79.2% | +2.5% |
| 1965 | 82.1% | +3.7% |
| 1970 | 87.7% | +6.8% |
| 1975 | 93.0% | +6.0% |
| 1980 | 96.4% | +3.7% |
| 1985 | 94.7% | -1.8% |
| 1990 | 93.5% | -1.3% |
| 1995 | 92.9% | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 93.3% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 95.0% | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 96.5% | +1.6% |
| 2015 | 97.2% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 98.0% | +0.8% |
Cuba compared with similar countries
- Cuba's 98.0% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 97.4%, 1.0× the median. (30 countries reporting)
- Cuba's 98.0% 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 Cuba 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 | +83.5% | 10.9% | 20.0% |
| 1905 | +60.0% | 20.0% | 32.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 3.6% | 3.2% | 4.0% | 2 |
| 1880s | 5.7% | 5.0% | 6.3% | 2 |
| 1890s | 9.5% | 8.1% | 10.9% | 2 |
| 1900s | 26.0% | 20.0% | 32.0% | 2 |
| 1910s | 42.4% | 37.6% | 47.1% | 2 |
| 1920s | 55.4% | 52.1% | 58.7% | 2 |
| 1930s | 67.7% | 65.7% | 69.6% | 2 |
| 1940s | 73.2% | 72.3% | 74.2% | 2 |
| 1950s | 76.8% | 76.2% | 77.3% | 2 |
| 1960s | 80.7% | 79.2% | 82.1% | 2 |
| 1970s | 90.3% | 87.7% | 93.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 95.6% | 94.7% | 96.4% | 2 |
| 1990s | 93.2% | 92.9% | 93.5% | 2 |
| 2000s | 94.2% | 93.3% | 95.0% | 2 |
| 2010s | 96.8% | 96.5% | 97.2% | 2 |
| 2020s | 98.0% | 98.0% | 98.0% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Cuba
More education data for Cuba
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 78,576 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 4,635 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 171,121 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 162,406 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 662,491 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 698,052 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -3.62 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2020)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0636 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Cuba?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Cuba was 98.0% 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 Cuba?
- The highest recorded value was 98.0% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Cuba?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.2% in 1870.
- How does Cuba rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Cuba ranks 45th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Cuba?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Cuba 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.