Share of the population with at least some formal education in Greece
Greece: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 99.4% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Greece, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Greece recorded 99.4% 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 0.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Greece peaked at 99.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 17.3%, in 1870.
That places Greece 18th out of 111 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
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 Greece, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 17.3% | — |
| 1875 | 19.6% | +13.3% |
| 1880 | 22.3% | +13.8% |
| 1885 | 25.1% | +12.6% |
| 1890 | 27.7% | +10.4% |
| 1895 | 29.7% | +7.2% |
| 1900 | 33.7% | +13.5% |
| 1905 | 36.1% | +7.1% |
| 1910 | 40.1% | +11.1% |
| 1915 | 43.4% | +8.2% |
| 1920 | 44.8% | +3.2% |
| 1925 | 45.6% | +1.8% |
| 1930 | 51.3% | +12.5% |
| 1935 | 61.0% | +18.9% |
| 1940 | 67.3% | +10.3% |
| 1945 | 73.0% | +8.5% |
| 1950 | 77.3% | +5.9% |
| 1955 | 83.5% | +8.0% |
| 1960 | 90.2% | +8.0% |
| 1965 | 88.5% | -1.9% |
| 1970 | 89.6% | +1.2% |
| 1975 | 92.3% | +3.0% |
| 1980 | 94.9% | +2.8% |
| 1985 | 94.9% | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 95.9% | +1.1% |
| 1995 | 94.6% | -1.4% |
| 2000 | 95.4% | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 99.3% | +4.1% |
| 2010 | 99.3% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 99.3% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 99.4% | +0.1% |
Greece compared with similar countries
- Greece's 99.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 99.0%, 1.0× the median. (41 countries reporting)
- Greece's 99.4% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 99.0%, 1.0× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 18.5% | 17.3% | 19.6% | 2 |
| 1880s | 23.7% | 22.3% | 25.1% | 2 |
| 1890s | 28.7% | 27.7% | 29.7% | 2 |
| 1900s | 34.9% | 33.7% | 36.1% | 2 |
| 1910s | 41.8% | 40.1% | 43.4% | 2 |
| 1920s | 45.2% | 44.8% | 45.6% | 2 |
| 1930s | 56.1% | 51.3% | 61.0% | 2 |
| 1940s | 70.2% | 67.3% | 73.0% | 2 |
| 1950s | 80.4% | 77.3% | 83.5% | 2 |
| 1960s | 89.3% | 88.5% | 90.2% | 2 |
| 1970s | 90.9% | 89.6% | 92.3% | 2 |
| 1980s | 94.9% | 94.9% | 94.9% | 2 |
| 1990s | 95.2% | 94.6% | 95.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 97.3% | 95.4% | 99.3% | 2 |
| 2010s | 99.3% | 99.3% | 99.3% | 2 |
| 2020s | 99.4% | 99.4% | 99.4% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Greece
More education data for Greece
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 82,575 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 7,545 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 90,546 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 83,794 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 687,813 (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 578,574 (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.67 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0556 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Greece?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Greece was 99.4% 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 Greece?
- The highest recorded value was 99.4% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Greece?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.3% in 1870.
- How does Greece rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Greece ranks 18th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Greece?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Greece 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.