Share of population with no formal education in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Share of population with no formal education was 33.9% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Share of population with no formal education in Afghanistan, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Afghanistan recorded 33.9% for share of population with no formal education in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 31 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 40.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population with no formal education in Afghanistan peaked at 100.0% in 1870 and was at its lowest, 33.9%, in 2020.
That places Afghanistan 11th out of 111 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 31 years of available data.
Share of population with no formal education in Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 100.0% | — |
| 1875 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 1880 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 1885 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 1890 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 1895 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 1900 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 99.8% | -0.2% |
| 1915 | 99.6% | -0.2% |
| 1920 | 99.4% | -0.2% |
| 1925 | 99.3% | -0.1% |
| 1930 | 99.1% | -0.2% |
| 1935 | 99.0% | -0.1% |
| 1940 | 95.3% | -3.7% |
| 1945 | 95.0% | -0.3% |
| 1950 | 94.5% | -0.5% |
| 1955 | 93.9% | -0.6% |
| 1960 | 92.8% | -1.2% |
| 1965 | 91.7% | -1.2% |
| 1970 | 88.3% | -3.7% |
| 1975 | 85.1% | -3.6% |
| 1980 | 81.2% | -4.6% |
| 1985 | 76.7% | -5.5% |
| 1990 | 73.8% | -3.8% |
| 1995 | 72.0% | -2.4% |
| 2000 | 66.4% | -7.8% |
| 2005 | 64.3% | -3.2% |
| 2010 | 56.7% | -11.8% |
| 2015 | 43.3% | -23.6% |
| 2020 | 33.9% | -21.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1880s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1890s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1900s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1910s | 99.7% | 99.6% | 99.8% | 2 |
| 1920s | 99.3% | 99.3% | 99.4% | 2 |
| 1930s | 99.0% | 99.0% | 99.1% | 2 |
| 1940s | 95.2% | 95.0% | 95.3% | 2 |
| 1950s | 94.2% | 93.9% | 94.5% | 2 |
| 1960s | 92.2% | 91.7% | 92.8% | 2 |
| 1970s | 86.7% | 85.1% | 88.3% | 2 |
| 1980s | 79.0% | 76.7% | 81.2% | 2 |
| 1990s | 72.9% | 72.0% | 73.8% | 2 |
| 2000s | 65.3% | 64.3% | 66.4% | 2 |
| 2010s | 50.0% | 43.3% | 56.7% | 2 |
| 2020s | 33.9% | 33.9% | 33.9% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
- 8 Benin 37.4% compare
- 9 Liberia 36.0% compare
- 10 Sierra Leone 35.1% compare
- 12 Pakistan 31.4% compare
- 13 Democratic Republic of Congo 30.7% compare
- 14 Côte d'Ivoire 29.3% compare
More education data for Afghanistan
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 7.51 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 3.56 % change on previous year (2019)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0004 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1811 units per person (2023)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.51 million (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 3.56 % change on previous year (2019)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), per unit of GDP 0.0004 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), per capita 0.1811 units per person (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 3.20 million (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population with no formal education in Afghanistan?
- Share of population with no formal education in Afghanistan was 33.9% 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 population with no formal education recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1870.
- What is the lowest share of population with no formal education recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 33.9% in 2020.
- How does Afghanistan rank for share of population with no formal education?
- Afghanistan ranks 11th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population with no formal education rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 40.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Afghanistan 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 population with no 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
The share of adults aged between 15 and 64 years old with no formal education.