The Education Effect - A World of Data

A data-driven, visual exploration of the effect increased education levels have on the world around us.

Story and visuals by Kevin Long

Published 2026/02/24

It’s no great secret that globally, education rates have been on the rise for decades.

Gross enrollment rate

1970

Data source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data

Understanding the data

Don't be alarmed if some of the values here exceed 100%! This is an expected part of how school enrollment data are calculated, not a data error. Our World in Data, the aggregators of these data, explain:

Values can exceed 100% when students repeat grades or start late. For instance, primary school enrollment might include 12- or 13-year-olds who started late or repeated grades, pushing the ratio above 100%.

Perhaps the most obvious, and therefore least interesting, expected outcome from this increasingly educated populace is an increase in GDP.

Number of countries by GDP

1970

Data source: National statistical organizations and central banks, OECD national accounts, and World Bank staff estimates (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data

We can see this clear correlation. The higher the levels of educational attainment, the higher a country's GDP rises.

But what if we swap this for something more interesting? There is a lot of talk that increased education often correlates to a more accepting populace...