Statizoid

Share of population with no formal education by country

The share of adults aged between 15 and 64 years old with no formal education.

Countries reporting
111
Highest
58.1%
Niger
Lowest
0.1%
United Kingdom
Median
3.0%
Years covered
151
1870–2020
Data points
3,441

What the numbers show

Share of population with no formal education is currently reported for 111 countries. The highest value is 58.1% in Niger; the lowest is 0.1% in United Kingdom.

The median across all reporting countries is 3.0%, and the mean is 9.5%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 581.

Over the past decade 20 countries rose and 83 fell. The largest increase was in Barbados (up 250.0%), and the largest decrease in Hong Kong (down 64.3%).

Share of population with no formal education: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Niger 58.1% 2020 down 19.4% falling
2 Mali 57.0% 2020 down 21.6% falling
3 Gambia 47.1% 2020 down 21.4% falling
4 Sudan 45.6% 2020 down 12.1% falling
5 Mozambique 45.5% 2020 down 31.7% falling
6 Senegal 42.0% 2020 down 21.8% falling
7 Yemen 38.0% 2020 down 31.7% falling
8 Benin 37.4% 2020 down 28.5% falling
9 Liberia 36.0% 2020 down 19.5% falling
10 Sierra Leone 35.1% 2020 down 36.1% falling
11 Afghanistan 33.9% 2020 down 40.2% falling
12 Pakistan 31.4% 2020 down 28.5% falling
13 Democratic Republic of Congo 30.7% 2020 down 28.4% falling
14 Cote d'Ivoire 29.3% 2020 down 20.6% falling
15 Morocco 28.2% 2020 down 30.4% falling
16 Togo 22.0% 2020 down 35.9% falling
17 Bangladesh 21.9% 2020 down 28.0% falling
18 Egypt 20.8% 2020 down 26.2% falling
19 India 20.6% 2020 down 31.6% falling
20 Nepal 20.5% 2020 down 37.9% falling
21 Eswatini 20.1% 2020 down 32.1% falling
22 Ghana 15.9% 2020 down 37.4% falling
23 Libya 14.9% 2020 down 20.7% falling
24 Haiti 14.8% 2020 down 35.4% falling
25 Iraq 13.2% 2020 down 38.9% falling
26 Cambodia 12.7% 2020 down 34.9% falling
27 Cameroon 12.3% 2020 down 30.5% falling
28 Guatemala 10.5% 2020 down 45.3% falling
29 Algeria 10.4% 2020 down 39.5% falling
30 Nicaragua 9.7% 2020 down 37.0% falling
31 Tunisia 9.4% 2020 down 37.3% falling
32 Iran 9.2% 2020 down 22.0% falling
33 Myanmar 8.5% 2020 down 37.0% falling
34 Syria 8.4% 2020 down 33.9% volatile
35 Malawi 8.2% 2020 down 47.8% falling
36 Norway 7.7% 2020 up 16.7% volatile
37 Lesotho 7.3% 2020 down 23.2% volatile
37 Reunion 7.3% 2020 up 21.7% volatile
39 Guyana 6.9% 2020 up 64.3% volatile
40 Zambia 6.8% 2020 down 43.3% volatile
41 Honduras 6.4% 2020 down 34.7% volatile
41 Kenya 6.4% 2020 down 57.9% falling
43 Uganda 5.7% 2020 down 46.7% falling
44 Luxembourg 5.4% 2020 up 1.9% volatile
45 Jamaica 5.1% 2020 down 3.8% volatile
46 Bolivia 4.9% 2020 down 32.9% volatile
47 Dominican Republic 4.3% 2020 down 33.8% volatile
48 Brazil 4.2% 2020 down 39.1% volatile
49 Panama 4.1% 2020 down 21.2% volatile
50 Turkey 3.7% 2020 down 39.3% volatile
51 Denmark 3.3% 2020 up 13.8% volatile
51 Mexico 3.3% 2020 down 31.2% volatile
53 Paraguay 3.1% 2020 up 29.2% volatile
53 Sweden 3.1% 2020 up 34.8% volatile
55 Belgium 3.0% 2020 down 23.1% volatile
55 Malta 3.0% 2020 up 20.0% volatile
57 Ecuador 2.9% 2020 down 49.1% volatile
57 Thailand 2.9% 2020 up 7.4% volatile
59 Kuwait 2.7% 2020 down 51.8% volatile
59 Sri Lanka 2.7% 2020 down 10.0% volatile
61 Colombia 2.6% 2020 down 40.9% volatile
61 Indonesia 2.6% 2020 down 45.8% volatile
61 Jordan 2.6% 2020 down 45.8% volatile
64 Portugal 2.4% 2020 down 31.4% volatile
65 Malaysia 2.2% 2020 down 50.0% volatile
66 Cuba 2.0% 2020 down 42.9% volatile
66 Venezuela 2.0% 2020 down 44.4% volatile
68 Austria 1.9% 2020 up 18.8% volatile
68 South Africa 1.9% 2020 down 52.5% volatile
68 Zimbabwe 1.9% 2020 down 47.2% volatile
71 Bulgaria 1.8% 2020 down 10.0% volatile
71 Costa Rica 1.8% 2020 down 33.3% volatile
71 Iceland 1.8% 2020 up 5.9% volatile
71 Philippines 1.8% 2020 down 21.7% volatile
71 El Salvador 1.8% 2020 down 43.8% volatile
76 New Zealand 1.7% 2020 up 54.5% volatile
77 Germany 1.6% 2020 down 5.9% volatile
77 Peru 1.6% 2020 down 50.0% volatile
79 China 1.3% 2020 down 50.0% volatile
80 Serbia 1.2% 2020 up 33.3% volatile
81 Switzerland 1.1% 2020 down 21.4% volatile
81 Fiji 1.1% 2020 down 38.9% volatile
81 France 1.1% 2020 down 8.3% volatile
84 Albania 1.0% 2020 down 28.6% volatile
84 Chile 1.0% 2020 down 28.6% volatile
84 Italy 1.0% 2020 down 33.3% volatile
84 Mauritius 1.0% 2020 down 60.0% volatile
84 Romania 1.0% 2020 up 11.1% volatile
84 Russia 1.0% 2020 up 100.0% volatile
90 Australia 0.9% 2020 up 80.0% volatile
91 Barbados 0.7% 2020 up 250.0% volatile
91 Spain 0.7% 2020 down 30.0% volatile
93 Greece 0.6% 2020 down 14.3% volatile
93 Trinidad and Tobago 0.6% 2020 unchanged volatile
95 Argentina 0.5% 2020 down 28.6% volatile
95 Hong Kong 0.5% 2020 down 64.3% volatile
97 Canada 0.4% 2020 down 20.0% volatile
97 Finland 0.4% 2020 up 33.3% volatile
97 Ireland 0.4% 2020 down 33.3% volatile
97 United States 0.4% 2020 up 33.3% volatile
101 Hungary 0.3% 2020 unchanged volatile
101 South Korea 0.3% 2020 down 57.1% volatile
101 Uruguay 0.3% 2020 down 40.0% volatile
104 Cyprus 0.2% 2020 unchanged volatile
104 Czechia 0.2% 2020 unchanged volatile
104 Japan 0.2% 2020 up 100.0% volatile
104 Netherlands 0.2% 2020 — volatile
104 Poland 0.2% 2020 unchanged volatile
104 Taiwan 0.2% 2020 down 50.0% volatile
110 Belize 0.1% 2020 unchanged volatile
110 United Kingdom 0.1% 2020 unchanged volatile

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Share of population with no formal education by country. Statizoid, drawing on Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 29 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-population-15-years-and-older-with-no-education/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of population with no formal education
Unit
%
Source
Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
111 places, 3,441 data points, 1870–2020
Last refreshed

The share of adults aged between 15 and 64 years old with no formal education.