Share of the population with at least some formal education in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 98.1% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Zimbabwe, 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 Zimbabwe stood at 98.1%. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
The figure is up 1.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Zimbabwe peaked at 98.1% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1870.
Zimbabwe ranks 42nd 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 Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 0.0% | — |
| 1875 | 0.0% | — |
| 1880 | 0.0% | — |
| 1885 | 0.0% | — |
| 1890 | 0.0% | — |
| 1895 | 0.0% | — |
| 1900 | 0.1% | — |
| 1905 | 0.3% | +200.0% |
| 1910 | 1.7% | +466.7% |
| 1915 | 3.5% | +105.9% |
| 1920 | 5.9% | +68.6% |
| 1925 | 10.0% | +69.5% |
| 1930 | 16.0% | +60.0% |
| 1935 | 25.4% | +58.7% |
| 1940 | 31.9% | +25.6% |
| 1945 | 34.9% | +9.4% |
| 1950 | 41.8% | +19.8% |
| 1955 | 49.1% | +17.5% |
| 1960 | 56.6% | +15.3% |
| 1965 | 62.9% | +11.1% |
| 1970 | 71.2% | +13.2% |
| 1975 | 74.7% | +4.9% |
| 1980 | 75.1% | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 79.5% | +5.9% |
| 1990 | 87.8% | +10.4% |
| 1995 | 91.2% | +3.9% |
| 2000 | 93.4% | +2.4% |
| 2005 | 94.6% | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 96.4% | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 97.2% | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 98.1% | +0.9% |
Zimbabwe compared with similar countries
- Zimbabwe's 98.1% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 85.2%, 1.2× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Zimbabwe's 98.1% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 78.0%, 1.3× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of the population with at least some formal education in Zimbabwe 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | +466.7% | 0.3% | 1.7% |
| 1905 | +200.0% | 0.1% | 0.3% |
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 | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 2 |
| 1910s | 2.6% | 1.7% | 3.5% | 2 |
| 1920s | 8.0% | 5.9% | 10.0% | 2 |
| 1930s | 20.7% | 16.0% | 25.4% | 2 |
| 1940s | 33.4% | 31.9% | 34.9% | 2 |
| 1950s | 45.5% | 41.8% | 49.1% | 2 |
| 1960s | 59.8% | 56.6% | 62.9% | 2 |
| 1970s | 73.0% | 71.2% | 74.7% | 2 |
| 1980s | 77.3% | 75.1% | 79.5% | 2 |
| 1990s | 89.5% | 87.8% | 91.2% | 2 |
| 2000s | 94.0% | 93.4% | 94.6% | 2 |
| 2010s | 96.8% | 96.4% | 97.2% | 2 |
| 2020s | 98.1% | 98.1% | 98.1% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
More education data for Zimbabwe
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 42,585 (2013)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 12,514 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 328,055 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 322,698 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 957,461 (2013)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.94 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.4866 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1767 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Zimbabwe?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Zimbabwe was 98.1% 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 Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 98.1% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1870.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Zimbabwe ranks 42nd out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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.