Share of the population with at least some formal education in Iran
Iran: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 90.8% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Iran, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Iran recorded 90.8% 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 2.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Iran peaked at 90.8% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1870.
Iran ranks 80th of 111 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
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 Iran, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 0.0% | — |
| 1875 | 0.0% | — |
| 1880 | 0.0% | — |
| 1885 | 0.0% | — |
| 1890 | 0.1% | — |
| 1895 | 0.1% | +0.0% |
| 1900 | 0.3% | +200.0% |
| 1905 | 0.4% | +33.3% |
| 1910 | 0.6% | +50.0% |
| 1915 | 2.5% | +316.7% |
| 1920 | 2.8% | +12.0% |
| 1925 | 3.1% | +10.7% |
| 1930 | 3.5% | +12.9% |
| 1935 | 4.0% | +14.3% |
| 1940 | 5.6% | +40.0% |
| 1945 | 7.0% | +25.0% |
| 1950 | 8.7% | +24.3% |
| 1955 | 10.1% | +16.1% |
| 1960 | 13.8% | +36.6% |
| 1965 | 20.6% | +49.3% |
| 1970 | 27.0% | +31.1% |
| 1975 | 33.4% | +23.7% |
| 1980 | 44.2% | +32.3% |
| 1985 | 55.0% | +24.4% |
| 1990 | 64.0% | +16.4% |
| 1995 | 74.3% | +16.1% |
| 2000 | 82.3% | +10.8% |
| 2005 | 86.1% | +4.6% |
| 2010 | 88.2% | +2.4% |
| 2015 | 89.2% | +1.1% |
| 2020 | 90.8% | +1.8% |
Iran compared with similar countries
- Iran's 90.8% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 97.4%, 93% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
- Iran's 90.8% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 88.2%, 1.0× the median. (14 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of the population with at least some formal education in Iran changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | +316.7% | 0.6% | 2.5% |
| 1900 | +200.0% | 0.1% | 0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1880s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1890s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 2 |
| 1900s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 2 |
| 1910s | 1.5% | 0.6% | 2.5% | 2 |
| 1920s | 3.0% | 2.8% | 3.1% | 2 |
| 1930s | 3.8% | 3.5% | 4.0% | 2 |
| 1940s | 6.3% | 5.6% | 7.0% | 2 |
| 1950s | 9.4% | 8.7% | 10.1% | 2 |
| 1960s | 17.2% | 13.8% | 20.6% | 2 |
| 1970s | 30.2% | 27.0% | 33.4% | 2 |
| 1980s | 49.6% | 44.2% | 55.0% | 2 |
| 1990s | 69.2% | 64.0% | 74.3% | 2 |
| 2000s | 84.2% | 82.3% | 86.1% | 2 |
| 2010s | 88.7% | 88.2% | 89.2% | 2 |
| 2020s | 90.8% | 90.8% | 90.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Iran
More education data for Iran
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 406,399 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 108,066 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 519,698 (2020)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 505,053 (2020)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.62 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 9.09 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 3.31 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1003 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Iran?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Iran was 90.8% 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 Iran?
- The highest recorded value was 90.8% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Iran?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1870.
- How does Iran rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Iran ranks 80th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Iran?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Iran 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.