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.
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Nepal, 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 | 0.1% | — |
| 1910 | 0.1% | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.2% | +100.0% |
| 1920 | 0.9% | +350.0% |
| 1925 | 0.9% | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 1.0% | +11.1% |
| 1935 | 1.1% | +10.0% |
| 1940 | 1.2% | +9.1% |
| 1945 | 1.3% | +8.3% |
| 1950 | 1.4% | +7.7% |
| 1955 | 1.6% | +14.3% |
| 1960 | 1.8% | +12.5% |
| 1965 | 4.1% | +127.8% |
| 1970 | 7.8% | +90.2% |
| 1975 | 11.4% | +46.2% |
| 1980 | 15.6% | +36.8% |
| 1985 | 25.5% | +63.5% |
| 1990 | 35.1% | +37.6% |
| 1995 | 39.8% | +13.4% |
| 2000 | 48.4% | +21.6% |
| 2005 | 58.2% | +20.2% |
| 2010 | 67.0% | +15.1% |
| 2015 | 72.6% | +8.4% |
| 2020 | 79.5% | +9.5% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 79.5% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 85.2%, 93% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of the population with at least some formal education in Nepal 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 | +350.0% | 0.2% | 0.9% |
| 1965 | +127.8% | 1.8% | 4.1% |
| 1915 | +100.0% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 1970 | +90.2% | 4.1% | 7.8% |
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
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 124,257 (2025)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 263,796 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 752,326 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 609,324 (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.67 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.57 million (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.31 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1204 units per person (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.