Statizoid

UIS: Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years, male 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 male 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
91
Highest
14.44
Switzerland
Lowest
2.56
Mali
Median
10.81
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, male is currently reported for 91 countries. The highest value is 14.44 in Switzerland; the lowest is 2.56 in Mali.

The median across all reporting countries is 10.81, and the mean is 10.63.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 6.

Over the past decade 81 countries rose and 8 fell. The largest increase was in Mali (up 77.1%), and the largest decrease in Philippines (down 8.1%).

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

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Switzerland 14.44 2016 up 3.0% rising
2 Germany 14.36 2018 down 2.9% flat
3 United States 13.71 2018 up 3.9% rising
4 Luxembourg 13.66 2015 up 15.1% rising
5 Estonia 13.55 2018 up 1.3% rising
6 Cayman Islands 13.39 2015 up 14.3% rising
7 Canada 13.26 2016 up 1.9% rising
8 United Kingdom 13.24 2017 down 0.8% flat
9 Lithuania 13.2 2017 up 7.3% rising
10 New Zealand 13.17 2016 down 2.0% rising
11 Israel 13.03 2015 up 5.2% rising
12 Poland 13.01 2016 up 7.3% rising
13 Czechia 13 2017 up 3.7% rising
14 Slovakia 13 2017 up 2.6% rising
15 South Korea 12.85 2015 up 5.3% rising
16 Georgia 12.85 2017 up 6.2% rising
17 Norway 12.84 2017 up 3.4% rising
18 Hong Kong 12.74 2017 up 9.7% rising
19 Slovenia 12.74 2017 up 6.6% rising
20 Netherlands 12.67 2018 up 2.9% rising
21 Finland 12.65 2017 up 0.4% rising
22 Denmark 12.65 2018 down 0.5% rising
23 Latvia 12.6 2018 up 4.2% rising
24 Puerto Rico 12.55 2017 down 0.8% rising
25 Belgium 12.52 2017 up 10.9% rising
26 Austria 12.5 2017 up 3.6% rising
27 Australia 12.43 2018 up 1.4% rising
28 Cyprus 12.43 2018 up 6.4% rising
29 Sweden 12.4 2017 up 0.8% rising
30 Hungary 12.21 2016 up 7.8% rising
31 Kazakhstan 12.18 2018 up 6.3% rising
32 Bermuda 12.12 2016 up 16.8% rising
33 Singapore 12.11 2018 up 9.6% rising
34 Uzbekistan 12 2018 up 4.3% flat
35 France 11.71 2017 up 7.1% rising
36 Samoa 11.71 2011 up 9.2% rising
37 Moldova 11.64 2015 up 5.5% rising
38 Serbia 11.61 2017 up 5.9% rising
39 Malta 11.6 2016 up 12.8% rising
40 Romania 11.41 2017 up 2.7% rising
41 Ireland 11.29 2017 up 9.9% rising
42 Bulgaria 11.24 2017 up 5.4% rising
43 Argentina 10.95 2018 up 5.3% rising
44 Azerbaijan 10.89 2017 up 0.9% flat
45 Bosnia and Herzegovina 10.86 2018 up 32.8% rising
46 Fiji 10.81 2017 up 16.2% rising
47 Macao 10.76 2016 up 16.4% rising
48 Chile 10.71 2017 up 8.2% rising
49 Sri Lanka 10.65 2018 up 3.6% rising
50 Greece 10.58 2016 up 0.2% rising
51 Andorra 10.56 2016 up 3.3% flat
52 Bahrain 10.53 2018 up 31.0% rising
53 Trinidad and Tobago 10.52 2011 — rising
54 Belize 10.49 2010 up 36.8% rising
55 Malaysia 10.47 2016 up 29.4% rising
56 Iran 10.41 2016 up 1.4% flat
57 Italy 10.4 2015 up 8.7% rising
58 Spain 10.35 2018 up 8.7% rising
59 South Africa 10.29 2017 up 9.6% rising
60 Peru 10.26 2018 up 12.3% rising
61 Venezuela 10.01 2016 up 34.6% rising
62 Palestine 9.64 2018 up 8.8% rising
63 Bolivia 9.42 2015 up 20.8% rising
64 Qatar 9.37 2017 down 0.8% rising
65 Portugal 9.14 2018 up 17.9% rising
66 Mexico 9.13 2018 up 7.7% rising
67 Turkey 9.11 2017 up 23.9% rising
68 Mauritius 9.1 2011 up 29.8% rising
69 Zimbabwe 8.92 2017 up 14.3% rising
70 Ecuador 8.82 2017 up 11.8% rising
71 Dominican Republic 8.76 2016 up 17.4% rising
72 Thailand 8.67 2018 up 16.7% rising
73 Paraguay 8.64 2018 up 15.2% rising
74 Uruguay 8.63 2018 up 5.2% rising
75 Costa Rica 8.62 2018 up 2.4% rising
76 Indonesia 8.58 2018 up 11.5% rising
77 Colombia 8.3 2018 up 13.8% rising
78 Philippines 8.17 2017 down 8.1% rising
79 Saint Lucia 8.11 2013 — rising
80 Tunisia 8 2016 up 6.9% rising
81 Brazil 7.75 2018 up 17.5% rising
82 Syria 7.36 2009 up 37.6% rising
83 El Salvador 7.27 2017 up 20.1% rising
84 Bangladesh 7.14 2019 up 18.8% rising
85 Kuwait 6.83 2018 up 10.5% rising
86 Guatemala 6.68 2014 up 52.6% rising
87 Uganda 6.34 2012 up 20.7% rising
88 Pakistan 6.25 2017 up 2.3% rising
89 Honduras 6.2 2018 up 25.3% rising
90 Cambodia 4.77 2015 down 5.4% falling
91 Mali 2.56 2018 up 77.1% 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 29 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/uis-mean-years-of-schooling-isced-1-or-higher-population-25-years-male/

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About this data

Indicator
UIS: Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years, male
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 male 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/