Share of population with no formal education in Pakistan
Pakistan: Share of population with no formal education was 31.4% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Share of population with no formal education in Pakistan, 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 Pakistan stood at 31.4%. That is the lowest value across all 31 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 28.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population with no formal education in Pakistan peaked at 99.9% in 1870 and was at its lowest, 31.4%, in 2020.
That places Pakistan 12th 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 Pakistan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 99.9% | — |
| 1875 | 99.9% | +0.0% |
| 1880 | 99.9% | +0.0% |
| 1885 | 99.9% | +0.0% |
| 1890 | 99.8% | -0.1% |
| 1895 | 99.8% | +0.0% |
| 1900 | 99.7% | -0.1% |
| 1905 | 97.6% | -2.1% |
| 1910 | 95.6% | -2.0% |
| 1915 | 94.0% | -1.7% |
| 1920 | 90.2% | -4.0% |
| 1925 | 89.1% | -1.2% |
| 1930 | 88.0% | -1.2% |
| 1935 | 87.1% | -1.0% |
| 1940 | 86.2% | -1.0% |
| 1945 | 85.3% | -1.0% |
| 1950 | 85.2% | -0.1% |
| 1955 | 84.7% | -0.6% |
| 1960 | 82.6% | -2.5% |
| 1965 | 80.3% | -2.8% |
| 1970 | 79.2% | -1.4% |
| 1975 | 75.5% | -4.7% |
| 1980 | 73.4% | -2.8% |
| 1985 | 69.1% | -5.9% |
| 1990 | 64.8% | -6.2% |
| 1995 | 62.0% | -4.3% |
| 2000 | 58.5% | -5.6% |
| 2005 | 43.7% | -25.3% |
| 2010 | 43.9% | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 37.5% | -14.6% |
| 2020 | 31.4% | -16.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% | 2 |
| 1880s | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% | 2 |
| 1890s | 99.8% | 99.8% | 99.8% | 2 |
| 1900s | 98.7% | 97.6% | 99.7% | 2 |
| 1910s | 94.8% | 94.0% | 95.6% | 2 |
| 1920s | 89.7% | 89.1% | 90.2% | 2 |
| 1930s | 87.5% | 87.1% | 88.0% | 2 |
| 1940s | 85.8% | 85.3% | 86.2% | 2 |
| 1950s | 85.0% | 84.7% | 85.2% | 2 |
| 1960s | 81.4% | 80.3% | 82.6% | 2 |
| 1970s | 77.3% | 75.5% | 79.2% | 2 |
| 1980s | 71.2% | 69.1% | 73.4% | 2 |
| 1990s | 63.4% | 62.0% | 64.8% | 2 |
| 2000s | 51.1% | 43.7% | 58.5% | 2 |
| 2010s | 40.7% | 37.5% | 43.9% | 2 |
| 2020s | 31.4% | 31.4% | 31.4% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Pakistan
- 9 Liberia 36.0% compare
- 10 Sierra Leone 35.1% compare
- 11 Afghanistan 33.9% compare
- 13 Democratic Republic of Congo 30.7% compare
- 14 Cote d'Ivoire 29.3% compare
- 15 Morocco 28.2% compare
More education data for Pakistan
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 25.38 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 3.1 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.101 units per person (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 25.38 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 3.1 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), per capita 0.101 units per person (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 12.22 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population with no formal education in Pakistan?
- Share of population with no formal education in Pakistan was 31.4% 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 Pakistan?
- The highest recorded value was 99.9% in 1870.
- What is the lowest share of population with no formal education recorded in Pakistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 31.4% in 2020.
- How does Pakistan rank for share of population with no formal education?
- Pakistan ranks 12th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population with no formal education rising or falling in Pakistan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Pakistan 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.