Share of the population with at least some formal education in Mali
Mali: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 43.0% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Mali, 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 Mali stood at 43.0%. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
The figure is up 57.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Mali peaked at 43.0% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1870.
Mali ranks 110th 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.
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Mali, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 0.0% | — |
| 1875 | 0.0% | — |
| 1880 | 0.0% | — |
| 1885 | 0.0% | — |
| 1890 | 0.0% | — |
| 1895 | 0.0% | — |
| 1900 | 0.0% | — |
| 1905 | 0.0% | — |
| 1910 | 0.1% | — |
| 1915 | 0.1% | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.4% | +300.0% |
| 1925 | 0.6% | +50.0% |
| 1930 | 0.8% | +33.3% |
| 1935 | 2.6% | +225.0% |
| 1940 | 2.8% | +7.7% |
| 1945 | 3.2% | +14.3% |
| 1950 | 4.0% | +25.0% |
| 1955 | 4.6% | +15.0% |
| 1960 | 5.0% | +8.7% |
| 1965 | 5.7% | +14.0% |
| 1970 | 6.8% | +19.3% |
| 1975 | 10.1% | +48.5% |
| 1980 | 13.0% | +28.7% |
| 1985 | 16.0% | +23.1% |
| 1990 | 18.1% | +13.1% |
| 1995 | 19.7% | +8.8% |
| 2000 | 22.1% | +12.2% |
| 2005 | 28.0% | +26.7% |
| 2010 | 27.3% | -2.5% |
| 2015 | 34.6% | +26.7% |
| 2020 | 43.0% | +24.3% |
Mali compared with similar countries
- Mali's 43.0% is below the median for low income countries, which is 64.0%, 67% of the median. (13 countries reporting)
- Mali's 43.0% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 78.0%, 55% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of the population with at least some formal education in Mali 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | +300.0% | 0.1% | 0.4% |
| 1935 | +225.0% | 0.8% | 2.6% |
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 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1900s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1910s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 2 |
| 1920s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 2 |
| 1930s | 1.7% | 0.8% | 2.6% | 2 |
| 1940s | 3.0% | 2.8% | 3.2% | 2 |
| 1950s | 4.3% | 4.0% | 4.6% | 2 |
| 1960s | 5.3% | 5.0% | 5.7% | 2 |
| 1970s | 8.4% | 6.8% | 10.1% | 2 |
| 1980s | 14.5% | 13.0% | 16.0% | 2 |
| 1990s | 18.9% | 18.1% | 19.7% | 2 |
| 2000s | 25.1% | 22.1% | 28.0% | 2 |
| 2010s | 31.0% | 27.3% | 34.6% | 2 |
| 2020s | 43.0% | 43.0% | 43.0% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Mali
More education data for Mali
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 80,395 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 512,692 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 82,198 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 83,509 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.31 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.97 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.42 % change on previous year (2018)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1251 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Mali?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Mali was 43.0% 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 Mali?
- The highest recorded value was 43.0% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Mali?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1870.
- How does Mali rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Mali ranks 110th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Mali?
- Over the last ten years it is up 57.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Mali 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.