Share of the population with at least some formal education in Turkey
Turkey: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 96.3% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Turkey, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of the population with at least some formal education in Turkey is 96.3%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Turkey peaked at 96.3% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 1870.
Turkey ranks 62nd 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 Turkey, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 0.2% | — |
| 1875 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 1880 | 0.3% | +50.0% |
| 1885 | 0.4% | +33.3% |
| 1890 | 0.6% | +50.0% |
| 1895 | 0.8% | +33.3% |
| 1900 | 2.7% | +237.5% |
| 1905 | 3.7% | +37.0% |
| 1910 | 3.3% | -10.8% |
| 1915 | 5.1% | +54.5% |
| 1920 | 6.8% | +33.3% |
| 1925 | 8.4% | +23.5% |
| 1930 | 10.3% | +22.6% |
| 1935 | 12.5% | +21.4% |
| 1940 | 14.3% | +14.4% |
| 1945 | 17.5% | +22.4% |
| 1950 | 22.0% | +25.7% |
| 1955 | 27.7% | +25.9% |
| 1960 | 35.2% | +27.1% |
| 1965 | 42.1% | +19.6% |
| 1970 | 47.6% | +13.1% |
| 1975 | 55.5% | +16.6% |
| 1980 | 63.0% | +13.5% |
| 1985 | 72.6% | +15.2% |
| 1990 | 75.3% | +3.7% |
| 1995 | 81.5% | +8.2% |
| 2000 | 87.6% | +7.5% |
| 2005 | 91.3% | +4.2% |
| 2010 | 93.9% | +2.8% |
| 2015 | 95.1% | +1.3% |
| 2020 | 96.3% | +1.3% |
Turkey compared with similar countries
- Turkey's 96.3% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 97.4%, 99% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
- Turkey's 96.3% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 99.0%, 97% of the median. (28 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of the population with at least some formal education in Turkey 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | +237.5% | 0.8% | 2.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 2 |
| 1880s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 2 |
| 1890s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.8% | 2 |
| 1900s | 3.2% | 2.7% | 3.7% | 2 |
| 1910s | 4.2% | 3.3% | 5.1% | 2 |
| 1920s | 7.6% | 6.8% | 8.4% | 2 |
| 1930s | 11.4% | 10.3% | 12.5% | 2 |
| 1940s | 15.9% | 14.3% | 17.5% | 2 |
| 1950s | 24.9% | 22.0% | 27.7% | 2 |
| 1960s | 38.7% | 35.2% | 42.1% | 2 |
| 1970s | 51.5% | 47.6% | 55.5% | 2 |
| 1980s | 67.8% | 63.0% | 72.6% | 2 |
| 1990s | 78.4% | 75.3% | 81.5% | 2 |
| 2000s | 89.4% | 87.6% | 91.3% | 2 |
| 2010s | 94.5% | 93.9% | 95.1% | 2 |
| 2020s | 96.3% | 96.3% | 96.3% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Turkey
More education data for Turkey
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 788,294 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 184,302 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.05 million (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 980,973 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 12.31 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 5.54 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.87 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0649 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Turkey?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Turkey was 96.3% 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 Turkey?
- The highest recorded value was 96.3% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Turkey?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 1870.
- How does Turkey rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Turkey ranks 62nd out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Turkey?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Turkey 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.