Share of the population with at least some formal education in El Salvador
El Salvador: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 98.2% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of the population with at least some formal education in El Salvador, 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 El Salvador stood at 98.2%. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
The figure is up 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in El Salvador peaked at 98.2% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 5.6%, in 1870.
That places El Salvador 37th 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 6.2% | 5.6% | 6.9% | 2 |
| 1880s | 9.3% | 8.4% | 10.2% | 2 |
| 1890s | 13.4% | 12.3% | 14.5% | 2 |
| 1900s | 20.4% | 19.4% | 21.5% | 2 |
| 1910s | 26.4% | 25.8% | 26.9% | 2 |
| 1920s | 29.3% | 28.5% | 30.1% | 2 |
| 1930s | 31.1% | 31.0% | 31.2% | 2 |
| 1940s | 32.1% | 30.8% | 33.4% | 2 |
| 1950s | 37.7% | 36.2% | 39.1% | 2 |
| 1960s | 46.8% | 44.1% | 49.5% | 2 |
| 1970s | 58.9% | 56.1% | 61.7% | 2 |
| 1980s | 67.8% | 66.6% | 69.1% | 2 |
| 1990s | 74.8% | 72.5% | 77.1% | 2 |
| 2000s | 85.2% | 82.3% | 88.0% | 2 |
| 2010s | 97.2% | 96.8% | 97.7% | 2 |
| 2020s | 98.2% | 98.2% | 98.2% | 1 |
Countries ranked near El Salvador
- 34 Germany 98.4% compare
- 34 Peru 98.4% compare
- 36 New Zealand 98.3% compare
- 37 Bulgaria 98.2% compare
- 37 Costa Rica 98.2% compare
- 37 Iceland 98.2% compare
- 37 Philippines 98.2% compare
More education data for El Salvador
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 67.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 24.4% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 89.9% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 22,132 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.77 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 90.2% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in El Salvador?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in El Salvador was 98.2% 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 El Salvador?
- The highest recorded value was 98.2% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in El Salvador?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.6% in 1870.
- How does El Salvador rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- El Salvador ranks 37th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in El Salvador?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this El Salvador 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.