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WorldPop

Countries by Mean Years of Schooling

Average years of formal education completed by adults aged 25 and over.

148 of 240 countries and territories have a published value for this indicator.

#1 Ireland
13.7 years
Europe
Our World in Data, 2020
#2 South Korea
13.7 years
Asia
Our World in Data, 2020
#3 Iceland
13.5 years
Europe
Our World in Data, 2020
Median country
9.6 years
Across 148 ranked countries

Full Ranking (148 Countries)

Countries with no published value are excluded rather than ranked last. Sort any column, filter by continent, or export as CSV.

148 countries
Values are the most recent published observation per country, so the year varies. The trend column shows each country's population from 1950 to 2025 (top 25 rows only, to keep the page light) — it is context, not the ranked measure.
1Ireland13.7 years
2South Korea13.7 years
3Iceland13.5 years
4United States13.3 years
5Slovakia13.1 years
6Germany13.1 years
7Singapore13.1 years
8Switzerland13.0 years
9Canada12.9 years
9Australia12.9 years
9Czech Republic12.9 years
12United Kingdom12.9 years
13Japan12.8 years
13Hong Kong12.8 years
15Taiwan12.8 years
16Lithuania12.5 years
17Cyprus12.4 years
18Estonia12.3 years
19Malta12.1 years
20Norway12.1 years
21Slovenia12.1 years
22Israel12.0 years
23Croatia12.0 years
24Poland12.0 years
25Malaysia12.0 years
25Hungary12.0 years
25Latvia12.0 years
28Sweden11.9 years
29France11.9 years
30Greece11.9 years
31Netherlands11.8 years
32Kazakhstan11.8 years
33Serbia11.7 years
34Denmark11.7 years
35Cuba11.6 years
36Russia11.6 years
37Belgium11.6 years
38Luxembourg11.5 years
39Fiji11.5 years
40Italy11.5 years
40Spain11.5 years
42Tonga11.4 years
43Romania11.3 years
43Trinidad and Tobago11.3 years
45Kyrgyzstan11.2 years
46Finland11.1 years
47Macao11.0 years
48Moldova10.8 years
49Ukraine10.8 years
50Jordan10.8 years
50New Zealand10.8 years
52Bulgaria10.8 years
53Chile10.7 years
54Belize10.7 years
55Botswana10.6 years
56Armenia10.5 years
57South Africa10.5 years
58Panama10.4 years
59Mauritius10.4 years
60Austria10.4 years
61Sri Lanka10.3 years
62Albania10.3 years
63Colombia10.2 years
64Mexico10.2 years
64Gabon10.2 years
66Tajikistan10.1 years
67Jamaica10.1 years
68Mongolia10.0 years
69Peru10.0 years
70Argentina9.9 years
70Saudi Arabia9.9 years
72Iran9.8 years
73Barbados9.7 years
74United Arab Emirates9.6 years
74Libya9.6 years
76Portugal9.6 years
77Philippines9.4 years
78Venezuela9.3 years
79Thailand9.3 years
80Tunisia9.3 years
81Brunei9.3 years
82Costa Rica9.1 years
83Ecuador9.1 years
84Indonesia9.1 years
84Bolivia9.1 years
86Dominican Republic9.0 years
87China9.0 years
88Paraguay8.8 years
89Uruguay8.8 years
90Réunion8.7 years
91Qatar8.5 years
91Guyana8.5 years
93Turkey8.5 years
94Ghana8.4 years
95Zambia8.4 years
96Vietnam8.4 years
97Zimbabwe8.3 years
98Iraq8.3 years
99Bahrain8.2 years
100Algeria8.2 years
101El Salvador8.1 years
102Maldives8.1 years
103Egypt8.0 years
104Brazil8.0 years
105Syria7.9 years
106India7.8 years
107Nicaragua7.8 years
108Togo7.7 years
109Honduras7.5 years
110Cameroon7.4 years
111Bangladesh7.2 years
112Namibia6.9 years
112Lesotho6.9 years
114Tanzania6.9 years
115Morocco6.8 years
116Congo6.7 years
117Kenya6.7 years
118Nigeria6.7 years
119Uganda6.7 years
120Kuwait6.6 years
121Myanmar6.5 years
122Eswatini6.5 years
123Pakistan6.4 years
124Benin6.3 years
125Guatemala6.3 years
126Nepal6.2 years
127Ivory Coast6.1 years
127Laos6.1 years
129Haiti6.0 years
130Cambodia5.8 years
131Liberia5.8 years
132Afghanistan5.7 years
133Yemen5.6 years
134Mauritania5.6 years
135Malawi5.4 years
136Rwanda5.2 years
137Burundi5.1 years
138Sierra Leone5.0 years
139Gambia4.9 years
140DR Congo4.9 years
141Papua New Guinea4.8 years
142Central African Republic4.6 years
143Senegal4.4 years
144Sudan4.4 years
145Mozambique4.2 years
146Mali3.6 years
147Niger3.0 years
148Ethiopia3.0 years

Top 10

The ten highest-ranked countries by mean years of schooling.

  1. Ireland13.7
  2. South Korea13.7
  3. Iceland13.5
  4. United States13.3
  5. Slovakia13.1
  6. Germany13.1
  7. Singapore13.1
  8. Switzerland13.0
  9. Canada12.9
  10. Australia12.9
Top ten countries by mean years of schooling
NameMean Years of Schooling
Ireland13.7
South Korea13.7
Iceland13.5
United States13.3
Slovakia13.1
Germany13.1
Singapore13.1
Switzerland13.0
Canada12.9
Australia12.9

By Continent

Mean of country values within each continent — an unweighted average, so a small country counts the same as a large one.

Average mean years of schooling by continent
NameValueShare
Europe1220.8%
Oceania1018.0%
North America9.616.9%
South America9.316.3%
Asia9.316.3%
Africa6.711.7%

Average by continent

About This Data

Definition

Average years of formal education completed by adults aged 25 and over.

Coverage and vintage

148 of 240 countries and territories report this indicator. Each value is the latest published observation for that country — the year column shows which. The leading value is Our World in Data, 2020.