Share of the population with at least some formal education in Myanmar
Myanmar: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 91.5% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Myanmar, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Myanmar recorded 91.5% 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 5.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Myanmar peaked at 91.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 1870.
That places Myanmar 79th out of 111 countries with data for 2020, putting it 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 Myanmar, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 1.7% | — |
| 1875 | 2.6% | +52.9% |
| 1880 | 3.8% | +46.2% |
| 1885 | 5.9% | +55.3% |
| 1890 | 8.6% | +45.8% |
| 1895 | 10.7% | +24.4% |
| 1900 | 11.6% | +8.4% |
| 1905 | 12.8% | +10.3% |
| 1910 | 14.0% | +9.4% |
| 1915 | 19.3% | +37.9% |
| 1920 | 20.3% | +5.2% |
| 1925 | 21.2% | +4.4% |
| 1930 | 22.4% | +5.7% |
| 1935 | 22.4% | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 23.4% | +4.5% |
| 1945 | 22.9% | -2.1% |
| 1950 | 23.5% | +2.6% |
| 1955 | 25.2% | +7.2% |
| 1960 | 25.8% | +2.4% |
| 1965 | 29.8% | +15.5% |
| 1970 | 30.0% | +0.7% |
| 1975 | 32.8% | +9.3% |
| 1980 | 45.1% | +37.5% |
| 1985 | 55.0% | +22.0% |
| 1990 | 68.5% | +24.5% |
| 1995 | 74.2% | +8.3% |
| 2000 | 78.9% | +6.3% |
| 2005 | 82.1% | +4.1% |
| 2010 | 86.5% | +5.4% |
| 2015 | 88.9% | +2.8% |
| 2020 | 91.5% | +2.9% |
Myanmar compared with similar countries
- Myanmar's 91.5% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 85.2%, 1.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Myanmar's 91.5% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 98.3%, 93% of the median. (13 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of the population with at least some formal education in Myanmar 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1885 | +55.3% | 3.8% | 5.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 2.1% | 1.7% | 2.6% | 2 |
| 1880s | 4.8% | 3.8% | 5.9% | 2 |
| 1890s | 9.6% | 8.6% | 10.7% | 2 |
| 1900s | 12.2% | 11.6% | 12.8% | 2 |
| 1910s | 16.6% | 14.0% | 19.3% | 2 |
| 1920s | 20.8% | 20.3% | 21.2% | 2 |
| 1930s | 22.4% | 22.4% | 22.4% | 2 |
| 1940s | 23.1% | 22.9% | 23.4% | 2 |
| 1950s | 24.4% | 23.5% | 25.2% | 2 |
| 1960s | 27.8% | 25.8% | 29.8% | 2 |
| 1970s | 31.4% | 30.0% | 32.8% | 2 |
| 1980s | 50.0% | 45.1% | 55.0% | 2 |
| 1990s | 71.3% | 68.5% | 74.2% | 2 |
| 2000s | 80.5% | 78.9% | 82.1% | 2 |
| 2010s | 87.7% | 86.5% | 88.9% | 2 |
| 2020s | 91.5% | 91.5% | 91.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Myanmar
More education data for Myanmar
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 153,660 (2018)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 25,434 (2018)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 76,947 (2018)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 77,156 (2018)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.19 million (2018)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 5.30 million (2018)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.64 % change on previous year (2018)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2018)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1014 units per person (2018)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Myanmar?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Myanmar was 91.5% 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 Myanmar?
- The highest recorded value was 91.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Myanmar?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 1870.
- How does Myanmar rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Myanmar ranks 79th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Myanmar?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Myanmar 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.