Share of the population with at least some formal education in Sudan
Sudan: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 54.4% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Sudan, 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 Sudan stood at 54.4%. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 13.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Sudan peaked at 54.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 1870.
Sudan ranks 108th 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 Sudan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 0.1% | — |
| 1875 | 0.1% | +0.0% |
| 1880 | 0.1% | +0.0% |
| 1885 | 0.2% | +100.0% |
| 1890 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 1895 | 0.3% | +50.0% |
| 1900 | 0.5% | +66.7% |
| 1905 | 0.8% | +60.0% |
| 1910 | 1.0% | +25.0% |
| 1915 | 4.9% | +390.0% |
| 1920 | 5.4% | +10.2% |
| 1925 | 5.9% | +9.3% |
| 1930 | 6.7% | +13.6% |
| 1935 | 7.3% | +9.0% |
| 1940 | 8.3% | +13.7% |
| 1945 | 8.9% | +7.2% |
| 1950 | 10.2% | +14.6% |
| 1955 | 12.1% | +18.6% |
| 1960 | 13.8% | +14.0% |
| 1965 | 16.1% | +16.7% |
| 1970 | 19.2% | +19.3% |
| 1975 | 22.7% | +18.2% |
| 1980 | 26.8% | +18.1% |
| 1985 | 32.6% | +21.6% |
| 1990 | 37.2% | +14.1% |
| 1995 | 41.0% | +10.2% |
| 2000 | 44.3% | +8.0% |
| 2005 | 46.3% | +4.5% |
| 2010 | 48.1% | +3.9% |
| 2015 | 51.3% | +6.7% |
| 2020 | 54.4% | +6.0% |
Sudan compared with similar countries
- Sudan's 54.4% is below the median for low income countries, which is 64.0%, 85% of the median. (13 countries reporting)
- Sudan's 54.4% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 78.0%, 70% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of the population with at least some formal education in Sudan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | +390.0% | 1.0% | 4.9% |
| 1885 | +100.0% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 2 |
| 1880s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 2 |
| 1890s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 2 |
| 1900s | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 2 |
| 1910s | 3.0% | 1.0% | 4.9% | 2 |
| 1920s | 5.7% | 5.4% | 5.9% | 2 |
| 1930s | 7.0% | 6.7% | 7.3% | 2 |
| 1940s | 8.6% | 8.3% | 8.9% | 2 |
| 1950s | 11.1% | 10.2% | 12.1% | 2 |
| 1960s | 15.0% | 13.8% | 16.1% | 2 |
| 1970s | 20.9% | 19.2% | 22.7% | 2 |
| 1980s | 29.7% | 26.8% | 32.6% | 2 |
| 1990s | 39.1% | 37.2% | 41.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 45.3% | 44.3% | 46.3% | 2 |
| 2010s | 49.7% | 48.1% | 51.3% | 2 |
| 2020s | 54.4% | 54.4% | 54.4% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Sudan
More education data for Sudan
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 105,251 (2019)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 581,716 (2019)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 563,787 (2019)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.31 million (2019)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 5.23 million (2019)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.27 % change on previous year (2019)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2019)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1149 units per person (2019)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Sudan?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Sudan was 54.4% 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 Sudan?
- The highest recorded value was 54.4% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Sudan?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 1870.
- How does Sudan rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Sudan ranks 108th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Sudan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sudan 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.