Share of the population with at least some formal education in Guatemala
Guatemala: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 89.5% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2020)
89.5%
World rank
84th
of 111 countries
All-time high
89.5%
in 2020
All-time low
5.5%
in 1870
Years of data
31
1870–2020
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Guatemala, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Guatemala recorded 89.5% for share of the population with at least some formal education in 2020. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
That represents a change of up 10.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Guatemala peaked at 89.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 5.5%, in 1870.
That places Guatemala 84th 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 Guatemala, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 5.5% | — |
| 1875 | 6.6% | +20.0% |
| 1880 | 7.9% | +19.7% |
| 1885 | 9.5% | +20.3% |
| 1890 | 11.4% | +20.0% |
| 1895 | 14.2% | +24.6% |
| 1900 | 19.6% | +38.0% |
| 1905 | 20.7% | +5.6% |
| 1910 | 24.5% | +18.4% |
| 1915 | 27.9% | +13.9% |
| 1920 | 30.9% | +10.8% |
| 1925 | 29.9% | -3.2% |
| 1930 | 29.7% | -0.7% |
| 1935 | 32.2% | +8.4% |
| 1940 | 31.9% | -0.9% |
| 1945 | 31.3% | -1.9% |
| 1950 | 31.0% | -1.0% |
| 1955 | 30.7% | -1.0% |
| 1960 | 30.8% | +0.3% |
| 1965 | 31.8% | +3.2% |
| 1970 | 35.7% | +12.3% |
| 1975 | 40.6% | +13.7% |
| 1980 | 53.5% | +31.8% |
| 1985 | 57.6% | +7.7% |
| 1990 | 62.3% | +8.2% |
| 1995 | 66.2% | +6.3% |
| 2000 | 69.8% | +5.4% |
| 2005 | 72.5% | +3.9% |
| 2010 | 80.8% | +11.4% |
| 2015 | 86.0% | +6.4% |
| 2020 | 89.5% | +4.1% |
Guatemala compared with similar countries
- Guatemala's 89.5% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 97.4%, 92% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
- Guatemala's 89.5% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 97.1%, 92% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 6.0% | 5.5% | 6.6% | 2 |
| 1880s | 8.7% | 7.9% | 9.5% | 2 |
| 1890s | 12.8% | 11.4% | 14.2% | 2 |
| 1900s | 20.1% | 19.6% | 20.7% | 2 |
| 1910s | 26.2% | 24.5% | 27.9% | 2 |
| 1920s | 30.4% | 29.9% | 30.9% | 2 |
| 1930s | 31.0% | 29.7% | 32.2% | 2 |
| 1940s | 31.6% | 31.3% | 31.9% | 2 |
| 1950s | 30.9% | 30.7% | 31.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 31.3% | 30.8% | 31.8% | 2 |
| 1970s | 38.2% | 35.7% | 40.6% | 2 |
| 1980s | 55.5% | 53.5% | 57.6% | 2 |
| 1990s | 64.2% | 62.3% | 66.2% | 2 |
| 2000s | 71.2% | 69.8% | 72.5% | 2 |
| 2010s | 83.4% | 80.8% | 86.0% | 2 |
| 2020s | 89.5% | 89.5% | 89.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Guatemala
More education data for Guatemala
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 122,548 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 247,917 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 335,306 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 328,468 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.13 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.42 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.3948 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1317 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Guatemala?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Guatemala was 89.5% 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 Guatemala?
- The highest recorded value was 89.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Guatemala?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.5% in 1870.
- How does Guatemala rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Guatemala ranks 84th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Guatemala?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Guatemala 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.