Average number of completed years in formal education, aged 17 and above, total by country

Countries reporting
93
Highest
13.97
Armenia
Lowest
1.67
Burkina Faso
Median
10.38
Years covered
52
1970–2021
Data points
1,319

What the numbers show

Average number of completed years in formal education, aged 17 and above, total is currently reported for 93 countries. The highest value is 13.97 in Armenia; the lowest is 1.67 in Burkina Faso.

The median across all reporting countries is 10.38, and the mean is 9.96.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 8.

Over the past decade 85 countries rose and 8 fell. The largest increase was in Benin (up 256.2%), and the largest decrease in Rwanda (down 23.4%).

Average number of completed years in formal education, aged 17 and: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Armenia 13.97 2018 up 21.1% rising
2 Georgia 13.25 2020 up 4.3% rising
3 United States of America 13.21 2010 up 2.9% rising
4 Czechia 12.96 2016 up 8.8% rising
5 Korea 12.96 2017 up 7.7% rising
6 Germany 12.91 2011 up 14.3% rising
7 Estonia 12.86 2016 up 5.7% rising
8 Finland 12.74 2016 up 5.0% rising
9 Belarus 12.71 2010 up 26.6% rising
10 Lithuania 12.67 2016 up 5.5% volatile
11 United Kingdom 12.63 2016 up 3.2% volatile
12 Latvia 12.57 2016 up 5.4% rising
13 Austria 12.53 2016 up 5.6% rising
14 Denmark 12.52 2016 up 5.6% rising
15 Slovenia 12.48 2016 up 14.9% rising
16 Slovak Republic 12.41 2016 up 3.5% rising
17 Mongolia 12.34 2021 up 28.9% rising
18 Norway 12.3 2016 up 1.4% flat
19 Ireland 12.27 2016 up 10.4% rising
20 Kazakhstan 12.25 2017 up 141.2% rising
21 Sweden 12.24 2016 up 0.2% flat
22 Netherlands 12.18 2016 up 4.7% rising
23 Iceland 12.18 2015 up 6.0% rising
24 Hungary 12.11 2016 up 5.6% rising
25 Belgium 12.05 2016 up 1.5% volatile
26 Mauritius 11.83 2017 up 49.4% rising
27 Bulgaria 11.75 2016 up 5.1% rising
28 Poland 11.7 2016 up 5.9% rising
29 France 11.63 2016 up 7.9% rising
30 Argentina 11.6 2021 up 7.2% rising
31 Ukraine 11.59 2018 up 0.9% rising
32 Puerto Rico 11.55 2005 down 3.3% rising
33 Croatia 11.54 2016 up 2.2% flat
34 Serbia 11.43 2018 up 5.2% rising
35 Cyprus 11.43 2016 up 6.7% rising
36 Australia 11.33 2015 up 3.1% flat
37 Chile 11.23 2017 up 10.3% rising
38 Luxembourg 11.21 2016 up 4.7% volatile
39 North Macedonia 11.15 2020 up 8.1% volatile
40 Kosovo 10.98 2017 up 37.5% rising
41 Romania 10.76 2016 up 3.9% rising
42 Bosnia and Herzegovina 10.76 2019 up 5.1% rising
43 Panama 10.71 2021 up 9.4% rising
44 Greece 10.55 2016 up 3.8% rising
45 Palestine, State of 10.49 2017 up 7.5% rising
46 Albania 10.44 2016 up 16.7% rising
47 Italy 10.38 2016 up 6.9% volatile
48 South Africa 10.33 2020 up 1.5% rising
49 Jordan 10.31 2016 up 1.8% rising
50 Montenegro 10.21 2010 down 19.1% falling
51 Malta 10.16 2016 up 3.4% flat
52 Spain 10.16 2016 down 2.0% volatile
53 Nigeria 10.07 2018 up 69.6% rising
54 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 10.06 2021 up 9.5% rising
55 Uruguay 9.92 2021 up 6.1% rising
56 Ecuador 9.82 2021 up 11.9% rising
57 Paraguay 9.69 2021 up 12.2% rising
58 Ghana 9.65 2016 up 57.0% rising
59 Mexico 9.59 2020 up 12.2% rising
60 Republic of Moldova 9.59 2017 down 20.0% flat
61 Peru 9.51 2021 up 4.2% rising
62 Colombia 9.39 2021 up 13.6% flat
63 Brazil 9.28 2021 up 20.3% rising
64 Jamaica 9.21 2002 up 12.4% rising
65 Sri Lanka 9.18 2016 up 8.1% rising
66 Costa Rica 9.13 2021 up 4.7% rising
67 Venezuela 8.83 2006 up 15.0% rising
68 Portugal 8.76 2016 up 1.5% flat
69 Namibia 8.64 2015 down 9.3% rising
70 Benin 8.59 2018 up 256.2% volatile
71 Dominican Republic 8.58 2013 up 10.0% rising
72 Egypt 8.56 2019 up 19.0% rising
73 Zambia 8.41 2015 up 35.3% rising
74 Türkiye 8.32 2019 down 14.1% falling
75 Senegal 8.2 2018 up 213.8% volatile
76 Belize 8.15 1999 up 4.6% rising
77 Ethiopia 7.63 2021 up 177.2% volatile
78 El Salvador 7.55 2019 up 8.7% rising
79 Honduras 7.21 2019 up 19.6% rising
80 Nicaragua 7.12 2014 up 19.3% rising
81 Guatemala 6.56 2019 up 26.1% rising
82 Uganda 6.44 2016 up 12.8% rising
83 Lao People's Democratic Republic 6.19 2018 up 18.5% rising
84 Malawi 6.14 2016 up 32.7% volatile
85 Tanzania, United Republic of 6.02 2012 up 16.8% rising
86 Nepal 5.43 2014 up 70.9% rising
87 Pakistan 5.33 2020 up 13.7% rising
88 Cambodia 5.17 2012 up 17.7% rising
89 Madagascar 4.58 2012 up 7.6% rising
90 Gambia 4.52 2020 down 7.1% volatile
91 Mali 3.4 2018 up 70.9% rising
92 Rwanda 3.28 2021 down 23.4% falling
93 Burkina Faso 1.67 2009 up 40.5% rising

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Average number of completed years in formal education, aged 17 and by country. Statizoid. Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/average-number-of-completed-years-in-formal-education-aged-17-and-above-total/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/average-number-of-completed-years-in-formal-education-aged-17-and-above-total/">Average number of completed years in formal education, aged 17 and by country</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Average number of completed years in formal education, aged 17 and above, total
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
93 places, 1,319 data points, 1970–2021
Last refreshed