Share of the population with at least some formal education in Zambia
Zambia: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 93.2% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Zambia, 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 Zambia is 93.2%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
The figure is up 5.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Zambia peaked at 93.2% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1870.
That places Zambia 72nd out of 111 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
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% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1910s | 5.2% | 3.6% | 6.8% | 2 |
| 1920s | 10.3% | 9.2% | 11.4% | 2 |
| 1930s | 24.4% | 22.5% | 26.4% | 2 |
| 1940s | 33.0% | 30.3% | 35.7% | 2 |
| 1950s | 43.4% | 41.5% | 45.2% | 2 |
| 1960s | 52.8% | 50.1% | 55.5% | 2 |
| 1970s | 61.7% | 61.0% | 62.4% | 2 |
| 1980s | 65.5% | 64.7% | 66.3% | 2 |
| 1990s | 74.0% | 67.4% | 80.5% | 2 |
| 2000s | 84.1% | 83.4% | 84.8% | 2 |
| 2010s | 89.5% | 88.0% | 91.1% | 2 |
| 2020s | 93.2% | 93.2% | 93.2% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More education data for Zambia
- Duration of pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 57.0% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 41.0% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 14 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 115.6% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 116,859 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 4.04 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 118.3% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Zambia?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Zambia was 93.2% 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 93.2% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1870.
- How does Zambia rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Zambia ranks 72nd out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Zambia 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.