Share of the population with at least some formal education in Denmark
Denmark: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 96.7% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Latest (2020)
96.7%
World rank
60th
of 111 countries
All-time high
99.9%
in 1990
All-time low
86.1%
in 1870
Years of data
31
1870–2020
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Denmark, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Denmark recorded 96.7% for share of the population with at least some formal education in 2020.
That represents a change of down 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Denmark peaked at 99.9% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 86.1%, in 1870.
That places Denmark 60th out of 111 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
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 Denmark, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 86.1% | — |
| 1875 | 87.1% | +1.2% |
| 1880 | 88.0% | +1.0% |
| 1885 | 89.1% | +1.2% |
| 1890 | 90.3% | +1.3% |
| 1895 | 91.3% | +1.1% |
| 1900 | 92.2% | +1.0% |
| 1905 | 93.0% | +0.9% |
| 1910 | 94.0% | +1.1% |
| 1915 | 94.9% | +1.0% |
| 1920 | 95.7% | +0.8% |
| 1925 | 96.4% | +0.7% |
| 1930 | 97.1% | +0.7% |
| 1935 | 97.6% | +0.5% |
| 1940 | 98.0% | +0.4% |
| 1945 | 97.4% | -0.6% |
| 1950 | 97.6% | +0.2% |
| 1955 | 97.1% | -0.5% |
| 1960 | 97.2% | +0.1% |
| 1965 | 97.5% | +0.3% |
| 1970 | 98.6% | +1.1% |
| 1975 | 98.2% | -0.4% |
| 1980 | 97.7% | -0.5% |
| 1985 | 97.5% | -0.2% |
| 1990 | 99.9% | +2.5% |
| 1995 | 99.9% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 98.7% | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 97.6% | -1.1% |
| 2010 | 97.1% | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 96.8% | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 96.7% | -0.1% |
Denmark compared with similar countries
- Denmark's 96.7% is below the median for high income countries, which is 99.0%, 98% of the median. (41 countries reporting)
- Denmark's 96.7% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 99.0%, 98% of the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 86.6% | 86.1% | 87.1% | 2 |
| 1880s | 88.5% | 88.0% | 89.1% | 2 |
| 1890s | 90.8% | 90.3% | 91.3% | 2 |
| 1900s | 92.6% | 92.2% | 93.0% | 2 |
| 1910s | 94.5% | 94.0% | 94.9% | 2 |
| 1920s | 96.1% | 95.7% | 96.4% | 2 |
| 1930s | 97.3% | 97.1% | 97.6% | 2 |
| 1940s | 97.7% | 97.4% | 98.0% | 2 |
| 1950s | 97.3% | 97.1% | 97.6% | 2 |
| 1960s | 97.3% | 97.2% | 97.5% | 2 |
| 1970s | 98.4% | 98.2% | 98.6% | 2 |
| 1980s | 97.6% | 97.5% | 97.7% | 2 |
| 1990s | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 98.2% | 97.6% | 98.7% | 2 |
| 2010s | 96.9% | 96.8% | 97.1% | 2 |
| 2020s | 96.7% | 96.7% | 96.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Denmark
More education data for Denmark
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 50,935 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 2,888 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 94,481 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 88,072 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 522,143 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 432,238 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.8558 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0723 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Denmark?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Denmark was 96.7% 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 Denmark?
- The highest recorded value was 99.9% in 1990.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Denmark?
- The lowest recorded value was 86.1% in 1870.
- How does Denmark rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Denmark ranks 60th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Denmark?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Denmark 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.