Share of the population with at least some formal education in Libya
Libya: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 85.1% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Libya, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Libya recorded 85.1% 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 4.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Libya peaked at 85.1% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1870.
That places Libya 89th 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 Libya, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 0.0% | — |
| 1875 | 0.0% | — |
| 1880 | 0.1% | — |
| 1885 | 0.1% | +0.0% |
| 1890 | 0.1% | +0.0% |
| 1895 | 0.1% | +0.0% |
| 1900 | 0.2% | +100.0% |
| 1905 | 0.3% | +50.0% |
| 1910 | 1.4% | +366.7% |
| 1915 | 2.4% | +71.4% |
| 1920 | 3.2% | +33.3% |
| 1925 | 5.8% | +81.2% |
| 1930 | 7.7% | +32.8% |
| 1935 | 9.2% | +19.5% |
| 1940 | 10.6% | +15.2% |
| 1945 | 12.1% | +14.2% |
| 1950 | 13.8% | +14.0% |
| 1955 | 15.8% | +14.5% |
| 1960 | 18.1% | +14.6% |
| 1965 | 24.4% | +34.8% |
| 1970 | 33.8% | +38.5% |
| 1975 | 43.4% | +28.4% |
| 1980 | 52.3% | +20.5% |
| 1985 | 61.0% | +16.6% |
| 1990 | 67.9% | +11.3% |
| 1995 | 72.2% | +6.3% |
| 2000 | 76.2% | +5.5% |
| 2005 | 78.9% | +3.5% |
| 2010 | 81.2% | +2.9% |
| 2015 | 83.7% | +3.1% |
| 2020 | 85.1% | +1.7% |
Libya compared with similar countries
- Libya's 85.1% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 97.4%, 87% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
- Libya's 85.1% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 88.2%, 96% of the median. (14 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of the population with at least some formal education in Libya 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | +366.7% | 0.3% | 1.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1880s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 2 |
| 1890s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 2 |
| 1900s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 2 |
| 1910s | 1.9% | 1.4% | 2.4% | 2 |
| 1920s | 4.5% | 3.2% | 5.8% | 2 |
| 1930s | 8.4% | 7.7% | 9.2% | 2 |
| 1940s | 11.3% | 10.6% | 12.1% | 2 |
| 1950s | 14.8% | 13.8% | 15.8% | 2 |
| 1960s | 21.2% | 18.1% | 24.4% | 2 |
| 1970s | 38.6% | 33.8% | 43.4% | 2 |
| 1980s | 56.6% | 52.3% | 61.0% | 2 |
| 1990s | 70.1% | 67.9% | 72.2% | 2 |
| 2000s | 77.6% | 76.2% | 78.9% | 2 |
| 2010s | 82.5% | 81.2% | 83.7% | 2 |
| 2020s | 85.1% | 85.1% | 85.1% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Libya
More education data for Libya
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 30,673 (1983)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 69,173 (1983)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 11,554 (2006)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 10,692 (2006)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 732,614 (2006)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 755,338 (2006)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 5.8 % change on previous year (2006)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2006)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1263 units per person (2006)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Libya?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Libya was 85.1% 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 Libya?
- The highest recorded value was 85.1% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Libya?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1870.
- How does Libya rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Libya ranks 89th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Libya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Libya 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.