Share of population with no formal education in Nepal
Nepal: Share of population with no formal education was 20.5% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Latest (2020)
20.5%
World rank
20th
of 111 countries
All-time high
100.0%
in 1870
All-time low
20.5%
in 2020
Years of data
31
1870–2020
Share of population with no formal education in Nepal, 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 Nepal stood at 20.5%. That is the lowest value across all 31 years on record.
The figure is down 37.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population with no formal education in Nepal peaked at 100.0% in 1870 and was at its lowest, 20.5%, in 2020.
Nepal ranks 20th of 111 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 31 years of available data.
Share of population with no formal education in Nepal, 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 | 99.9% | -0.1% |
| 1910 | 99.9% | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 99.8% | -0.1% |
| 1920 | 99.1% | -0.7% |
| 1925 | 99.1% | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 99.0% | -0.1% |
| 1935 | 98.9% | -0.1% |
| 1940 | 98.8% | -0.1% |
| 1945 | 98.7% | -0.1% |
| 1950 | 98.6% | -0.1% |
| 1955 | 98.4% | -0.2% |
| 1960 | 98.2% | -0.2% |
| 1965 | 95.9% | -2.3% |
| 1970 | 92.2% | -3.9% |
| 1975 | 88.6% | -3.9% |
| 1980 | 84.4% | -4.7% |
| 1985 | 74.5% | -11.7% |
| 1990 | 64.9% | -12.9% |
| 1995 | 60.2% | -7.2% |
| 2000 | 51.6% | -14.3% |
| 2005 | 41.8% | -19.0% |
| 2010 | 33.0% | -21.1% |
| 2015 | 27.4% | -17.0% |
| 2020 | 20.5% | -25.2% |
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% | 99.9% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1910s | 99.8% | 99.8% | 99.9% | 2 |
| 1920s | 99.1% | 99.1% | 99.1% | 2 |
| 1930s | 99.0% | 98.9% | 99.0% | 2 |
| 1940s | 98.8% | 98.7% | 98.8% | 2 |
| 1950s | 98.5% | 98.4% | 98.6% | 2 |
| 1960s | 97.1% | 95.9% | 98.2% | 2 |
| 1970s | 90.4% | 88.6% | 92.2% | 2 |
| 1980s | 79.5% | 74.5% | 84.4% | 2 |
| 1990s | 62.6% | 60.2% | 64.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 46.7% | 41.8% | 51.6% | 2 |
| 2010s | 30.2% | 27.4% | 33.0% | 2 |
| 2020s | 20.5% | 20.5% | 20.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More education data for Nepal
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 3.67 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth -0.7265 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 157,456 (2025)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate -2.05 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.80 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate -1.38 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.87 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate -0.0951 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 1.36 million (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 12.06 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population with no formal education in Nepal?
- Share of population with no formal education in Nepal was 20.5% 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 Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1870.
- What is the lowest share of population with no formal education recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.5% in 2020.
- How does Nepal rank for share of population with no formal education?
- Nepal ranks 20th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population with no formal education rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 37.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nepal 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.