Share of population with no formal education in Gambia
Gambia: Share of population with no formal education was 47.1% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Share of population with no formal education in Gambia, 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 population with no formal education in Gambia stood at 47.1%. That is the lowest value across all 31 years on record.
That represents a change of down 21.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population with no formal education in Gambia peaked at 98.6% in 1870 and was at its lowest, 47.1%, in 2020.
That places Gambia 3rd 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 Gambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 98.6% | — |
| 1875 | 98.2% | -0.4% |
| 1880 | 97.8% | -0.4% |
| 1885 | 97.2% | -0.6% |
| 1890 | 96.4% | -0.8% |
| 1895 | 95.5% | -0.9% |
| 1900 | 94.4% | -1.2% |
| 1905 | 93.0% | -1.5% |
| 1910 | 93.3% | +0.3% |
| 1915 | 94.1% | +0.9% |
| 1920 | 94.7% | +0.6% |
| 1925 | 95.1% | +0.4% |
| 1930 | 95.4% | +0.3% |
| 1935 | 95.2% | -0.2% |
| 1940 | 95.6% | +0.4% |
| 1945 | 95.8% | +0.2% |
| 1950 | 95.6% | -0.2% |
| 1955 | 95.3% | -0.3% |
| 1960 | 94.9% | -0.4% |
| 1965 | 94.3% | -0.6% |
| 1970 | 93.8% | -0.5% |
| 1975 | 91.4% | -2.6% |
| 1980 | 88.9% | -2.7% |
| 1985 | 85.7% | -3.6% |
| 1990 | 79.1% | -7.7% |
| 1995 | 75.3% | -4.8% |
| 2000 | 72.2% | -4.1% |
| 2005 | 65.5% | -9.3% |
| 2010 | 59.9% | -8.5% |
| 2015 | 52.0% | -13.2% |
| 2020 | 47.1% | -9.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 98.4% | 98.2% | 98.6% | 2 |
| 1880s | 97.5% | 97.2% | 97.8% | 2 |
| 1890s | 96.0% | 95.5% | 96.4% | 2 |
| 1900s | 93.7% | 93.0% | 94.4% | 2 |
| 1910s | 93.7% | 93.3% | 94.1% | 2 |
| 1920s | 94.9% | 94.7% | 95.1% | 2 |
| 1930s | 95.3% | 95.2% | 95.4% | 2 |
| 1940s | 95.7% | 95.6% | 95.8% | 2 |
| 1950s | 95.4% | 95.3% | 95.6% | 2 |
| 1960s | 94.6% | 94.3% | 94.9% | 2 |
| 1970s | 92.6% | 91.4% | 93.8% | 2 |
| 1980s | 87.3% | 85.7% | 88.9% | 2 |
| 1990s | 77.2% | 75.3% | 79.1% | 2 |
| 2000s | 68.8% | 65.5% | 72.2% | 2 |
| 2010s | 56.0% | 52.0% | 59.9% | 2 |
| 2020s | 47.1% | 47.1% | 47.1% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Gambia
More education data for Gambia
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 77,061 (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 369,783 (2021)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 442,901 (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.4 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1569 units per person (2025)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 442,901 (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 2.4 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population with no formal education in Gambia?
- Share of population with no formal education in Gambia was 47.1% 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 population with no formal education recorded in Gambia?
- The highest recorded value was 98.6% in 1870.
- What is the lowest share of population with no formal education recorded in Gambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 47.1% in 2020.
- How does Gambia rank for share of population with no formal education?
- Gambia ranks 3rd out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population with no formal education rising or falling in Gambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Gambia 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.
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About this data
The share of adults aged between 15 and 64 years old with no formal education.