Share of the population with at least some formal education in Iraq
Iraq: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 86.8% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Iraq, 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 Iraq stood at 86.8%. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 10.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Iraq peaked at 86.8% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 1870.
Iraq ranks 87th of 111 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
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 | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 2 |
| 1880s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 2 |
| 1890s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 2 |
| 1900s | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 2 |
| 1910s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 2 |
| 1920s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 2 |
| 1930s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 2 |
| 1940s | 1.2% | 1.0% | 1.5% | 2 |
| 1950s | 3.6% | 2.8% | 4.4% | 2 |
| 1960s | 9.4% | 7.0% | 11.9% | 2 |
| 1970s | 24.1% | 20.7% | 27.5% | 2 |
| 1980s | 41.3% | 35.5% | 47.1% | 2 |
| 1990s | 61.8% | 57.9% | 65.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 73.0% | 72.3% | 73.8% | 2 |
| 2010s | 80.8% | 78.4% | 83.3% | 2 |
| 2020s | 86.8% | 86.8% | 86.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Iraq
More education data for Iraq
- Duration of pre-primary education 2 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 60.5% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 36.0% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 104.6% (2007)
- Primary education, teachers 286,890 (2007)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 3.22 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 94.9% (2007)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Iraq?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Iraq was 86.8% 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 Iraq?
- The highest recorded value was 86.8% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Iraq?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 1870.
- How does Iraq rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Iraq ranks 87th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Iraq?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Iraq 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.