Share of population with no formal education in Kenya
Kenya: Share of population with no formal education was 6.4% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Share of population with no formal education in Kenya, 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 Kenya stood at 6.4%. That is the lowest value across all 31 years on record.
The figure is down 57.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population with no formal education in Kenya peaked at 99.9% in 1870 and was at its lowest, 6.4%, in 2020.
That places Kenya 41st out of 111 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 31 years of available data.
Share of population with no formal education in Kenya, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 99.9% | — |
| 1875 | 99.9% | +0.0% |
| 1880 | 99.8% | -0.1% |
| 1885 | 99.8% | +0.0% |
| 1890 | 99.7% | -0.1% |
| 1895 | 99.6% | -0.1% |
| 1900 | 99.5% | -0.1% |
| 1905 | 97.3% | -2.2% |
| 1910 | 95.4% | -2.0% |
| 1915 | 93.9% | -1.6% |
| 1920 | 87.2% | -7.1% |
| 1925 | 85.9% | -1.5% |
| 1930 | 84.5% | -1.6% |
| 1935 | 83.2% | -1.5% |
| 1940 | 81.9% | -1.6% |
| 1945 | 79.5% | -2.9% |
| 1950 | 77.5% | -2.5% |
| 1955 | 74.7% | -3.6% |
| 1960 | 70.8% | -5.2% |
| 1965 | 68.2% | -3.7% |
| 1970 | 62.7% | -8.1% |
| 1975 | 53.7% | -14.4% |
| 1980 | 43.6% | -18.8% |
| 1985 | 34.0% | -22.0% |
| 1990 | 26.8% | -21.2% |
| 1995 | 23.5% | -12.3% |
| 2000 | 20.8% | -11.5% |
| 2005 | 18.0% | -13.5% |
| 2010 | 15.2% | -15.6% |
| 2015 | 10.1% | -33.6% |
| 2020 | 6.4% | -36.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% | 2 |
| 1880s | 99.8% | 99.8% | 99.8% | 2 |
| 1890s | 99.7% | 99.6% | 99.7% | 2 |
| 1900s | 98.4% | 97.3% | 99.5% | 2 |
| 1910s | 94.7% | 93.9% | 95.4% | 2 |
| 1920s | 86.6% | 85.9% | 87.2% | 2 |
| 1930s | 83.8% | 83.2% | 84.5% | 2 |
| 1940s | 80.7% | 79.5% | 81.9% | 2 |
| 1950s | 76.1% | 74.7% | 77.5% | 2 |
| 1960s | 69.5% | 68.2% | 70.8% | 2 |
| 1970s | 58.2% | 53.7% | 62.7% | 2 |
| 1980s | 38.8% | 34.0% | 43.6% | 2 |
| 1990s | 25.1% | 23.5% | 26.8% | 2 |
| 2000s | 19.4% | 18.0% | 20.8% | 2 |
| 2010s | 12.6% | 10.1% | 15.2% | 2 |
| 2020s | 6.4% | 6.4% | 6.4% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More education data for Kenya
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 6.74 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 2.78 % change on previous year (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 281,500 (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate -3.24 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 3.38 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 3.59 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 3.36 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.97 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 2.89 million (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 1.97 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population with no formal education in Kenya?
- Share of population with no formal education in Kenya was 6.4% 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 Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 99.9% in 1870.
- What is the lowest share of population with no formal education recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.4% in 2020.
- How does Kenya rank for share of population with no formal education?
- Kenya ranks 41st out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population with no formal education rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is down 57.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Kenya 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.