Statizoid

UIS: Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years, both sexes by country

Mean years of schooling (MYS) provides the average number of years of education (primary/ISCED 1 or higher) completed by a country’s adult population (25 years and older), excluding years spent repeating grades. For further information and specific calculation methods, visit the UNESCO Institute for Statistics...

Countries reporting
93
Highest
14.08
Germany
Lowest
1.87
Mali
Median
10.58
Years covered
50
1970–2019
Data points
1,032

What the numbers show

UIS: Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years, both sexes is currently reported for 93 countries. The highest value is 14.08 in Germany; the lowest is 1.87 in Mali.

The median across all reporting countries is 10.58, and the mean is 10.5.

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

Over the past decade 86 countries rose and 5 fell. The largest increase was in Guatemala (up 70.6%), and the largest decrease in Cambodia (down 6.9%).

UIS: Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Germany 14.08 2018 up 2.3% flat
2 Estonia 14.05 2018 up 2.6% rising
3 Switzerland 13.96 2016 up 4.1% rising
4 United States 13.75 2018 up 4.0% rising
5 Luxembourg 13.6 2015 up 21.4% rising
6 Cayman Islands 13.5 2015 up 14.2% rising
7 Canada 13.32 2016 up 2.6% rising
8 Lithuania 13.3 2017 up 9.5% rising
9 United Kingdom 13.24 2017 down 0.1% flat
10 Poland 13.18 2016 up 9.6% rising
11 New Zealand 13.13 2016 down 2.5% rising
12 Latvia 13.08 2018 up 5.6% rising
13 Israel 13.04 2015 up 20.5% rising
14 Norway 12.95 2017 up 4.3% rising
15 Slovakia 12.93 2017 up 4.4% rising
16 Puerto Rico 12.88 2017 up 0.3% rising
17 Georgia 12.87 2017 up 8.0% rising
18 Denmark 12.87 2018 up 1.0% rising
19 Finland 12.82 2017 up 1.0% rising
20 Czechia 12.82 2017 up 5.6% rising
21 Slovenia 12.77 2017 up 8.0% rising
22 United Arab Emirates 12.55 2018 up 37.8% rising
23 Sweden 12.55 2017 down 0.2% rising
24 Bermuda 12.54 2016 up 14.4% rising
25 Australia 12.51 2018 up 1.7% rising
26 Netherlands 12.41 2018 up 3.8% rising
27 Cyprus 12.38 2018 up 9.1% rising
28 Belgium 12.37 2017 up 11.9% rising
29 Hong Kong 12.28 2017 up 11.3% rising
30 Kazakhstan 12.21 2018 up 5.4% rising
31 Austria 12.18 2017 up 5.4% rising
32 South Korea 12.12 2015 up 7.8% rising
33 Hungary 11.96 2016 up 10.1% rising
34 Samoa 11.84 2011 up 9.2% rising
35 Uzbekistan 11.81 2018 up 4.5% flat
36 Moldova 11.71 2015 up 7.6% rising
37 Singapore 11.62 2018 up 10.4% rising
38 Ireland 11.52 2017 up 3.8% rising
39 France 11.48 2017 up 7.3% rising
40 Bulgaria 11.36 2017 up 6.7% rising
41 Malta 11.33 2016 up 15.5% rising
42 Serbia 11.16 2017 up 9.0% rising
43 Argentina 11.16 2018 up 6.2% rising
44 Romania 11.07 2017 up 5.1% rising
45 Fiji 10.9 2017 up 17.4% rising
46 Sri Lanka 10.63 2018 up 5.0% rising
47 Chile 10.58 2017 up 8.0% rising
48 Trinidad and Tobago 10.56 2011 — rising
49 Azerbaijan 10.54 2017 up 1.0% rising
50 Macao 10.53 2016 up 19.4% rising
51 Andorra 10.5 2016 up 2.8% flat
52 Belize 10.5 2010 up 37.9% rising
53 Bahrain 10.48 2018 up 30.7% rising
54 Malaysia 10.37 2016 up 35.4% rising
55 Iran 10.35 2016 up 3.1% flat
56 Venezuela 10.31 2016 up 35.6% rising
57 Greece 10.26 2016 up 0.5% rising
58 Spain 10.25 2018 up 11.0% rising
59 Italy 10.19 2015 up 10.9% rising
60 South Africa 10.15 2017 up 11.6% rising
61 Bosnia and Herzegovina 9.82 2018 up 37.7% rising
62 Qatar 9.73 2017 up 1.1% rising
63 Peru 9.7 2018 up 15.2% rising
64 Palestine 9.53 2018 up 16.4% rising
65 Panama 9.29 2010 up 16.7% rising
66 Portugal 9.26 2018 up 20.5% rising
67 Dominican Republic 9.06 2016 up 17.4% rising
68 Mexico 8.95 2018 up 10.8% rising
69 Uruguay 8.93 2018 up 5.9% rising
70 Ecuador 8.76 2017 up 13.5% rising
71 Costa Rica 8.74 2018 up 3.9% rising
72 Bolivia 8.68 2015 up 21.9% rising
73 Paraguay 8.65 2018 up 16.9% rising
74 Mauritius 8.52 2011 up 35.3% rising
75 Colombia 8.47 2018 up 15.9% rising
76 Zimbabwe 8.47 2017 up 23.3% rising
77 Philippines 8.45 2017 down 6.3% rising
78 Thailand 8.45 2018 up 19.3% rising
79 Saint Lucia 8.4 2013 — rising
80 Turkey 8.28 2017 up 32.0% rising
81 Indonesia 8.17 2018 up 15.0% rising
82 Brazil 7.98 2018 up 18.4% rising
83 Tunisia 7.22 2016 up 13.5% rising
84 Kuwait 7.21 2018 up 11.3% rising
85 El Salvador 6.87 2017 up 21.7% rising
86 Guatemala 6.62 2014 up 70.6% rising
87 Bangladesh 6.55 2019 up 26.0% rising
88 Syria 6.5 2009 up 37.2% rising
89 Honduras 6.31 2018 up 27.1% rising
90 Uganda 5.13 2012 up 23.2% rising
91 Pakistan 5.02 2017 up 9.4% rising
92 Cambodia 3.68 2015 down 6.9% falling
93 Mali 1.87 2018 up 21.7% rising

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UIS: Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ by country. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 01 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/uis-mean-years-of-schooling-isced-1-or-higher-population-25-years-both-sexes/

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About this data

Indicator
UIS: Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years, both sexes
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
93 places, 1,032 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Mean years of schooling (MYS) provides the average number of years of education (primary/ISCED 1 or higher) completed by a country’s adult population (25 years and older), excluding years spent repeating grades. For further information and specific calculation methods, visit the UNESCO Institute for Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/