Share of the population with at least some formal education in Nepal
Nepal: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 79.5% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Nepal, 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 Nepal stood at 79.5%. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
That represents a change of up 18.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Nepal peaked at 79.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1870.
Nepal ranks 92nd 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 | 0.0% | 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% | 0.1% | 2 |
| 1910s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 2 |
| 1920s | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 2 |
| 1930s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 2 |
| 1940s | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 2 |
| 1950s | 1.5% | 1.4% | 1.6% | 2 |
| 1960s | 2.9% | 1.8% | 4.1% | 2 |
| 1970s | 9.6% | 7.8% | 11.4% | 2 |
| 1980s | 20.6% | 15.6% | 25.5% | 2 |
| 1990s | 37.5% | 35.1% | 39.8% | 2 |
| 2000s | 53.3% | 48.4% | 58.2% | 2 |
| 2010s | 69.8% | 67.0% | 72.6% | 2 |
| 2020s | 79.5% | 79.5% | 79.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More education data for Nepal
- Duration of pre-primary education 2 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 65.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 28.1% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 10 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 5 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 128.6% (2025)
- Primary education, teachers 157,456 (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.96 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 126.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Nepal?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Nepal was 79.5% 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 Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 79.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1870.
- How does Nepal rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Nepal ranks 92nd out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Nepal 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.