Share of the population with at least some formal education in Peru
Peru: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 98.4% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Peru, 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 Peru stood at 98.4%. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
The figure is up 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Peru peaked at 98.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.6%, in 1870.
Peru ranks 34th of 111 countries on this measure, 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 Peru, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 0.6% | — |
| 1875 | 0.9% | +50.0% |
| 1880 | 1.3% | +44.4% |
| 1885 | 1.9% | +46.2% |
| 1890 | 2.8% | +47.4% |
| 1895 | 4.0% | +42.9% |
| 1900 | 5.8% | +45.0% |
| 1905 | 11.7% | +101.7% |
| 1910 | 17.2% | +47.0% |
| 1915 | 21.4% | +24.4% |
| 1920 | 28.6% | +33.6% |
| 1925 | 33.2% | +16.1% |
| 1930 | 37.5% | +13.0% |
| 1935 | 43.2% | +15.2% |
| 1940 | 49.2% | +13.9% |
| 1945 | 55.5% | +12.8% |
| 1950 | 59.1% | +6.5% |
| 1955 | 61.9% | +4.7% |
| 1960 | 64.8% | +4.7% |
| 1965 | 68.4% | +5.6% |
| 1970 | 74.0% | +8.2% |
| 1975 | 79.3% | +7.2% |
| 1980 | 83.6% | +5.4% |
| 1985 | 86.1% | +3.0% |
| 1990 | 87.4% | +1.5% |
| 1995 | 89.4% | +2.3% |
| 2000 | 92.3% | +3.2% |
| 2005 | 94.6% | +2.5% |
| 2010 | 96.8% | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 97.6% | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 98.4% | +0.8% |
Peru compared with similar countries
- Peru's 98.4% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 97.4%, 1.0× the median. (30 countries reporting)
- Peru's 98.4% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 97.1%, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of the population with at least some formal education in Peru 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1905 | +101.7% | 5.8% | 11.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 2 |
| 1880s | 1.6% | 1.3% | 1.9% | 2 |
| 1890s | 3.4% | 2.8% | 4.0% | 2 |
| 1900s | 8.8% | 5.8% | 11.7% | 2 |
| 1910s | 19.3% | 17.2% | 21.4% | 2 |
| 1920s | 30.9% | 28.6% | 33.2% | 2 |
| 1930s | 40.4% | 37.5% | 43.2% | 2 |
| 1940s | 52.4% | 49.2% | 55.5% | 2 |
| 1950s | 60.5% | 59.1% | 61.9% | 2 |
| 1960s | 66.6% | 64.8% | 68.4% | 2 |
| 1970s | 76.7% | 74.0% | 79.3% | 2 |
| 1980s | 84.8% | 83.6% | 86.1% | 2 |
| 1990s | 88.4% | 87.4% | 89.4% | 2 |
| 2000s | 93.4% | 92.3% | 94.6% | 2 |
| 2010s | 97.2% | 96.8% | 97.6% | 2 |
| 2020s | 98.4% | 98.4% | 98.4% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Peru
- 32 Serbia 98.8% compare
- 33 China 98.7% compare
- 34 Germany 98.4% compare
- 36 New Zealand 98.3% compare
- 37 Bulgaria 98.2% compare
- 37 Costa Rica 98.2% compare
- 37 El Salvador 98.2% compare
- 37 Iceland 98.2% compare
- 37 Philippines 98.2% compare
More education data for Peru
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 224,754 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 84,765 (2019)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 770,032 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 745,341 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.11 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.71 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.84 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1083 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Peru?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Peru was 98.4% 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 Peru?
- The highest recorded value was 98.4% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Peru?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6% in 1870.
- How does Peru rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Peru ranks 34th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Peru?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Peru 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.