Statizoid

UIS: Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years, female 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 female adult population (25 years and older), excluding years spent repeating grades. For further information and specific calculation methods, visit the UNESCO Institute for...

Countries reporting
91
Highest
14.5
Estonia
Lowest
1.24
Mali
Median
10.62
Years covered
50
1970–2019
Data points
1,015

What the numbers show

UIS: Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years, female is currently reported for 91 countries. The highest value is 14.5 in Estonia; the lowest is 1.24 in Mali.

The median across all reporting countries is 10.62, and the mean is 10.38.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 12.

Over the past decade 84 countries rose and 5 fell. The largest increase was in Guatemala (up 90.9%), and the largest decrease in Mali (down 23.8%).

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

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Estonia 14.5 2018 up 4.0% rising
2 Germany 13.8 2018 up 4.1% rising
3 United States 13.8 2018 up 4.0% rising
4 Cayman Islands 13.61 2015 up 14.0% rising
5 Luxembourg 13.53 2015 up 28.1% rising
6 Switzerland 13.5 2016 up 5.3% rising
7 Latvia 13.49 2018 up 6.9% rising
8 Lithuania 13.38 2017 up 11.4% rising
9 Canada 13.38 2016 up 3.2% rising
10 Poland 13.34 2016 up 11.7% rising
11 United Kingdom 13.24 2017 up 0.6% flat
12 Puerto Rico 13.15 2017 up 1.0% rising
13 Denmark 13.09 2018 up 2.5% rising
14 New Zealand 13.08 2016 down 2.9% rising
15 Israel 13.06 2015 up 30.5% rising
16 Norway 13.05 2017 up 5.3% rising
17 Finland 12.99 2017 up 1.5% rising
18 Bermuda 12.92 2016 up 12.5% rising
19 Georgia 12.9 2017 up 9.5% rising
20 Slovakia 12.87 2017 up 6.1% rising
21 Slovenia 12.8 2017 up 9.2% rising
22 Sweden 12.69 2017 down 1.1% rising
23 Czechia 12.65 2017 up 7.4% rising
24 Australia 12.58 2018 up 2.1% rising
25 Cyprus 12.34 2018 up 11.7% rising
26 Kazakhstan 12.24 2018 up 4.3% rising
27 Belgium 12.22 2017 up 12.9% rising
28 Netherlands 12.17 2018 up 4.7% rising
29 Samoa 11.97 2011 up 9.2% rising
30 Hong Kong 11.91 2017 up 13.2% rising
31 Austria 11.87 2017 up 7.1% rising
32 Moldova 11.77 2015 up 9.6% rising
33 Hungary 11.75 2016 up 12.1% rising
34 Ireland 11.73 2017 up 4.6% rising
35 Uzbekistan 11.62 2018 up 4.7% flat
36 Bulgaria 11.47 2017 up 7.9% rising
37 South Korea 11.41 2015 up 10.1% rising
38 Argentina 11.35 2018 up 7.0% rising
39 Qatar 11.28 2017 up 8.9% rising
40 France 11.27 2017 up 7.4% rising
41 Singapore 11.18 2018 up 11.2% rising
42 Malta 11.05 2016 up 18.1% rising
43 Fiji 11 2017 up 18.7% rising
44 Romania 10.76 2017 up 7.5% rising
45 Serbia 10.76 2017 up 12.2% rising
46 Sri Lanka 10.62 2018 up 6.2% rising
47 Trinidad and Tobago 10.6 2011 — rising
48 Venezuela 10.59 2016 up 36.5% rising
49 Belize 10.5 2010 up 38.9% rising
50 Chile 10.48 2017 up 7.8% rising
51 Andorra 10.44 2016 up 2.4% flat
52 Bahrain 10.38 2018 up 30.2% rising
53 Macao 10.32 2016 up 22.4% rising
54 Iran 10.28 2016 up 5.5% rising
55 Malaysia 10.27 2016 up 42.5% rising
56 Azerbaijan 10.22 2017 up 1.1% rising
57 Spain 10.16 2018 up 13.3% rising
58 South Africa 10.03 2017 up 13.5% rising
59 Italy 9.99 2015 up 13.1% rising
60 Greece 9.97 2016 up 0.8% rising
61 Palestine 9.43 2018 up 25.3% rising
62 Portugal 9.37 2018 up 22.8% rising
63 Dominican Republic 9.32 2016 up 17.2% rising
64 Uruguay 9.19 2018 up 6.6% rising
65 Peru 9.15 2018 up 18.0% rising
66 Bosnia and Herzegovina 8.85 2018 up 43.6% rising
67 Costa Rica 8.85 2018 up 5.2% rising
68 Mexico 8.79 2018 up 13.8% rising
69 Philippines 8.73 2017 down 4.6% rising
70 Ecuador 8.71 2017 up 15.2% rising
71 Saint Lucia 8.67 2013 — rising
72 Paraguay 8.66 2018 up 18.6% rising
73 Colombia 8.62 2018 up 17.7% rising
74 Thailand 8.25 2018 up 21.9% rising
75 Brazil 8.18 2018 up 19.2% rising
76 Zimbabwe 8.07 2017 up 34.5% rising
77 Bolivia 7.99 2015 up 22.8% rising
78 Kuwait 7.97 2018 up 12.1% rising
79 Mauritius 7.97 2011 up 42.1% rising
80 Indonesia 7.76 2018 up 18.7% rising
81 Turkey 7.46 2017 up 43.6% rising
82 Guatemala 6.56 2014 up 90.9% rising
83 El Salvador 6.55 2017 up 23.0% rising
84 Tunisia 6.48 2016 up 22.8% volatile
85 Honduras 6.4 2018 up 28.6% rising
86 Bangladesh 5.98 2019 up 35.7% rising
87 Syria 5.6 2009 up 34.3% rising
88 Uganda 4.08 2012 up 28.9% rising
89 Pakistan 3.83 2017 up 30.6% rising
90 Cambodia 2.85 2015 down 6.0% falling
91 Mali 1.24 2018 down 23.8% 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 27 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/uis-mean-years-of-schooling-isced-1-or-higher-population-25-years-female/

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About this data

Indicator
UIS: Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years, female
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
91 places, 1,015 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 female 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/