Share of the population with at least some formal education in Norway
Norway: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 92.3% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Latest (2020)
92.3%
World rank
76th
of 111 countries
All-time high
99.9%
in 1990
All-time low
62.3%
in 1870
Years of data
31
1870–2020
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Norway, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Norway recorded 92.3% for share of the population with at least some formal education in 2020.
That represents a change of down 1.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Norway peaked at 99.9% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 62.3%, in 1870.
That places Norway 76th out of 111 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Norway, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 62.3% | — |
| 1875 | 64.8% | +4.0% |
| 1880 | 67.2% | +3.7% |
| 1885 | 69.5% | +3.4% |
| 1890 | 71.7% | +3.2% |
| 1895 | 75.0% | +4.6% |
| 1900 | 78.4% | +4.5% |
| 1905 | 82.5% | +5.2% |
| 1910 | 85.7% | +3.9% |
| 1915 | 88.8% | +3.6% |
| 1920 | 88.8% | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 91.1% | +2.6% |
| 1930 | 92.9% | +2.0% |
| 1935 | 94.3% | +1.5% |
| 1940 | 95.3% | +1.1% |
| 1945 | 96.4% | +1.2% |
| 1950 | 96.5% | +0.1% |
| 1955 | 97.1% | +0.6% |
| 1960 | 97.9% | +0.8% |
| 1965 | 98.0% | +0.1% |
| 1970 | 99.3% | +1.3% |
| 1975 | 97.7% | -1.6% |
| 1980 | 97.8% | +0.1% |
| 1985 | 99.2% | +1.4% |
| 1990 | 99.9% | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 99.8% | -0.1% |
| 2000 | 99.8% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 97.0% | -2.8% |
| 2010 | 93.4% | -3.7% |
| 2015 | 92.7% | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 92.3% | -0.4% |
Norway compared with similar countries
- Norway's 92.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 99.0%, 93% of the median. (41 countries reporting)
- Norway's 92.3% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 99.0%, 93% of the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 63.5% | 62.3% | 64.8% | 2 |
| 1880s | 68.3% | 67.2% | 69.5% | 2 |
| 1890s | 73.3% | 71.7% | 75.0% | 2 |
| 1900s | 80.5% | 78.4% | 82.5% | 2 |
| 1910s | 87.2% | 85.7% | 88.8% | 2 |
| 1920s | 89.9% | 88.8% | 91.1% | 2 |
| 1930s | 93.6% | 92.9% | 94.3% | 2 |
| 1940s | 95.8% | 95.3% | 96.4% | 2 |
| 1950s | 96.8% | 96.5% | 97.1% | 2 |
| 1960s | 98.0% | 97.9% | 98.0% | 2 |
| 1970s | 98.5% | 97.7% | 99.3% | 2 |
| 1980s | 98.5% | 97.8% | 99.2% | 2 |
| 1990s | 99.8% | 99.8% | 99.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 98.4% | 97.0% | 99.8% | 2 |
| 2010s | 93.1% | 92.7% | 93.4% | 2 |
| 2020s | 92.3% | 92.3% | 92.3% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Norway
More education data for Norway
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 59,473 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (1993)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 85,282 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 80,636 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 469,508 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 434,422 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.7841 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.078 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Norway?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Norway was 92.3% 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 Norway?
- The highest recorded value was 99.9% in 1990.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Norway?
- The lowest recorded value was 62.3% in 1870.
- How does Norway rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Norway ranks 76th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Norway?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Norway 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.