Share of the population with at least some formal education in Egypt
Egypt: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 79.2% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2020)
79.2%
World rank
94th
of 111 countries
All-time high
79.2%
in 2020
All-time low
0.4%
in 1870
Years of data
31
1870–2020
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Egypt, 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 Egypt stood at 79.2%. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
The figure is up 10.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Egypt peaked at 79.2% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 1870.
That places Egypt 94th 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 Egypt, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 0.4% | — |
| 1875 | 0.5% | +25.0% |
| 1880 | 0.6% | +20.0% |
| 1885 | 0.9% | +50.0% |
| 1890 | 1.2% | +33.3% |
| 1895 | 1.5% | +25.0% |
| 1900 | 2.0% | +33.3% |
| 1905 | 2.7% | +35.0% |
| 1910 | 3.6% | +33.3% |
| 1915 | 4.7% | +30.6% |
| 1920 | 5.7% | +21.3% |
| 1925 | 6.5% | +14.0% |
| 1930 | 6.4% | -1.5% |
| 1935 | 4.2% | -34.4% |
| 1940 | 4.7% | +11.9% |
| 1945 | 6.3% | +34.0% |
| 1950 | 7.1% | +12.7% |
| 1955 | 9.3% | +31.0% |
| 1960 | 11.4% | +22.6% |
| 1965 | 14.9% | +30.7% |
| 1970 | 18.9% | +26.8% |
| 1975 | 23.3% | +23.3% |
| 1980 | 33.7% | +44.6% |
| 1985 | 45.8% | +35.9% |
| 1990 | 51.2% | +11.8% |
| 1995 | 57.0% | +11.3% |
| 2000 | 63.6% | +11.6% |
| 2005 | 68.0% | +6.9% |
| 2010 | 71.8% | +5.6% |
| 2015 | 76.0% | +5.8% |
| 2020 | 79.2% | +4.2% |
Egypt compared with similar countries
- Egypt's 79.2% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 85.2%, 93% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Egypt's 79.2% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 88.2%, 90% of the median. (14 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 2 |
| 1880s | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 2 |
| 1890s | 1.4% | 1.2% | 1.5% | 2 |
| 1900s | 2.4% | 2.0% | 2.7% | 2 |
| 1910s | 4.2% | 3.6% | 4.7% | 2 |
| 1920s | 6.1% | 5.7% | 6.5% | 2 |
| 1930s | 5.3% | 4.2% | 6.4% | 2 |
| 1940s | 5.5% | 4.7% | 6.3% | 2 |
| 1950s | 8.2% | 7.1% | 9.3% | 2 |
| 1960s | 13.2% | 11.4% | 14.9% | 2 |
| 1970s | 21.1% | 18.9% | 23.3% | 2 |
| 1980s | 39.8% | 33.7% | 45.8% | 2 |
| 1990s | 54.1% | 51.2% | 57.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 65.8% | 63.6% | 68.0% | 2 |
| 2010s | 73.9% | 71.8% | 76.0% | 2 |
| 2020s | 79.2% | 79.2% | 79.2% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Egypt
More education data for Egypt
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 507,445 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 95,355 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 759,210 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 718,435 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 11.56 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 15.40 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.23 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1322 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Egypt?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Egypt was 79.2% 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 Egypt?
- The highest recorded value was 79.2% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Egypt?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 1870.
- How does Egypt rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Egypt ranks 94th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Egypt?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Egypt 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.