Mean Years of Schooling

Average number of years of education received by people ages 25 and older.

Latest available data

This page uses the latest available World Bank observation (2020). Country-level datasets often lag the current calendar year because they depend on official reporting and validation.

World Bank 2020

What is the global average Mean Years of Schooling?

The global average Mean Years of Schooling is 7.82 years as of 2020. Singapore has the highest at 12.81 years, while Liberia has the lowest at 2.21 years. Data covers 172 countries. Source: World Bank.

World Average
7.82 years
Highest
Singapore
12.81 years
Lowest
Liberia
2.21 years
Countries with Data
172
2020

Top Countries

#1 Singapore 12.81 years
#2 Hong Kong 11.89 years
#3 Finland 11.74 years
#4 Japan 11.74 years
#5 Canada 11.72 years

Regional Averages

Europe
10.43 years
40 country
Asia
8.23 years
45 country
Americas
8.06 years
28 country
Oceania
7.32 years
13 country
Africa
5.15 years
46 country

Country Rankings

View full rankings
Mean Years of Schooling — Country Rankings (2020)
# Country Value
1 Singapore 12.81 years
2 Hong Kong 11.89 years
3 Finland 11.74 years
4 Japan 11.74 years
5 Canada 11.72 years
6 Estonia 11.72 years
7 South Korea 11.68 years
8 Ireland 11.59 years
9 Sweden 11.58 years
10 Macau 11.57 years
11 Netherlands 11.54 years
12 United Kingdom 11.54 years
13 New Zealand 11.39 years
14 Poland 11.37 years
15 Slovenia 11.37 years
16 Portugal 11.31 years
17 France 11.27 years
18 Norway 11.23 years
19 Australia 11.22 years
20 Belgium 11.18 years
21 Czechia 11.12 years
22 Denmark 11.1 years
23 Germany 11.03 years
24 Latvia 10.98 years
25 Lithuania 10.98 years
26 Switzerland 10.93 years
27 Cyprus 10.92 years
28 Austria 10.91 years
29 Russia 10.9 years
30 Belarus 10.78 years
31 Iceland 10.72 years
32 Vietnam 10.68 years
33 Israel 10.59 years
34 United States 10.56 years
35 Spain 10.51 years
36 Italy 10.45 years
37 Croatia 10.45 years
38 Hungary 10.27 years
39 Malta 10.19 years
40 Greece 9.96 years
41 Ukraine 9.87 years
42 Slovakia 9.8 years
43 Luxembourg 9.8 years
44 Serbia 9.75 years
45 Seychelles 9.7 years
46 United Arab Emirates 9.65 years
47 Chile 9.41 years
48 Mauritius 9.41 years
49 Bahrain 9.29 years
50 China 9.27 years
51 Turkey 9.23 years
52 Brunei 9.22 years
53 Mongolia 9.15 years
54 Uzbekistan 9.13 years
55 Kazakhstan 9.13 years
56 Trinidad and Tobago 9.12 years
57 Costa Rica 8.99 years
58 Albania 8.95 years
59 Montenegro 8.91 years
60 Malaysia 8.89 years
61 Mexico 8.82 years
62 Qatar 8.78 years
63 Ecuador 8.7 years
64 Palau 8.69 years
65 Bulgaria 8.69 years
66 Thailand 8.68 years
67 Kyrgyzstan 8.65 years
68 Oman 8.64 years
69 Peru 8.63 years
70 Colombia 8.62 years
71 Uruguay 8.55 years
72 Saint Lucia 8.48 years
73 Saint Kitts and Nevis 8.48 years
74 Kenya 8.47 years
75 Sri Lanka 8.46 years
76 Antigua and Barbuda 8.44 years
77 Argentina 8.41 years
78 Romania 8.37 years
79 Moldova 8.29 years
80 Azerbaijan 8.28 years
81 Georgia 8.27 years
82 Grenada 8.27 years
83 Iran 8.19 years
84 Palestine 8.05 years
85 Dominica 8.01 years
86 Armenia 7.99 years
87 Saudi Arabia 7.89 years
88 Brazil 7.87 years
89 Indonesia 7.83 years
90 Bosnia and Herzegovina 7.8 years
91 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 7.71 years
92 Jordan 7.67 years
93 El Salvador 7.64 years
94 Philippines 7.49 years
95 Kuwait 7.38 years
96 Kiribati 7.38 years
97 North Macedonia 7.3 years
98 Samoa 7.25 years
99 Nepal 7.23 years
100 Micronesia 7.19 years
101 Tonga 7.14 years
102 India 7.1 years
103 Algeria 7.09 years
104 Jamaica 7.06 years
105 Zimbabwe 7.01 years
106 Paraguay 6.98 years
107 Fiji 6.95 years
108 Cambodia 6.84 years
109 Myanmar 6.79 years
110 Tajikistan 6.79 years
111 Guyana 6.76 years
112 Nicaragua 6.75 years
113 Dominican Republic 6.56 years
114 Egypt 6.53 years
115 Tunisia 6.49 years
116 Panama 6.48 years
117 Lebanon 6.34 years
118 Bhutan 6.33 years
119 Morocco 6.32 years
120 Lesotho 6.31 years
121 Guatemala 6.3 years
122 Timor-Leste 6.29 years
123 Laos 6.25 years
124 Haiti 6.15 years
125 Honduras 6.13 years
126 Namibia 6.11 years
127 Gabon 6.02 years
128 Papua New Guinea 6 years
129 Tuvalu 6 years
130 Bangladesh 5.99 years
131 Togo 5.97 years
132 Ghana 5.96 years
133 Benin 5.67 years
134 Marshall Islands 5.66 years
135 Vanuatu 5.62 years
136 South Africa 5.6 years
137 Malawi 5.51 years
138 Gambia 5.38 years
139 Cameroon 5.29 years
140 Republic of the Congo 5.29 years
141 Burundi 5.16 years
142 Comoros 5.13 years
143 Botswana 5.08 years
144 Pakistan 5.08 years
145 Afghanistan 5.05 years
146 Nigeria 5.04 years
147 Zambia 5.04 years
148 Sierra Leone 4.85 years
149 Senegal 4.84 years
150 Ivory Coast 4.81 years
151 Madagascar 4.71 years
152 Solomon Islands 4.68 years
153 Guinea 4.57 years
154 Burkina Faso 4.53 years
155 DR Congo 4.53 years
156 Eswatini 4.53 years
157 Tanzania 4.48 years
158 Mozambique 4.47 years
159 Ethiopia 4.35 years
160 Uganda 4.34 years
161 Sudan 4.3 years
162 Angola 4.23 years
163 Mauritania 4.23 years
164 Yemen 4.18 years
165 Iraq 4.03 years
166 Rwanda 3.93 years
167 Chad 2.83 years
168 Central African Republic 2.7 years
169 Niger 2.68 years
170 Mali 2.58 years
171 South Sudan 2.51 years
172 Liberia 2.21 years

Definition

Mean Years of Schooling measures the average number of years of formal education completed by a country's population aged 25 and older. It serves as a critical indicator of human capital, reflecting the educational attainment and skill levels of the current adult workforce rather than just current student enrollment trends.

How it is calculated

The indicator is calculated using national census data or household surveys that record the highest level of schooling attained by individuals. These attainment levels are converted into years based on the standard duration of each education cycle. The total years are aggregated and then divided by the total population in the 25-and-older age bracket.

Interpretation

Higher values indicate a more educated adult population, which is strongly associated with higher economic productivity, better health outcomes, and increased civic participation. Low values often highlight historical gaps in educational infrastructure or systemic barriers that prevented older generations from completing primary or secondary schooling.

Frequently Asked Questions

Mean Years of Schooling is a statistical measure representing the average number of years of education received by people aged 25 and older. It provides a snapshot of the total educational stock within the adult population. This metric is frequently used to assess a nation's level of development and its capacity for economic growth.

The latest available data shows that Singapore has the highest Mean Years of Schooling, with an average of approximately 12.81 years. This ranking highlights the country's successful long-term investment in secondary and tertiary education. Singapore leads the 172 countries covered by recent estimates for this specific human capital indicator.

According to current estimates, Liberia has the lowest Mean Years of Schooling, with an average of approximately 2.21 years. This figure reflects significant historical and structural challenges in providing formal education to the adult population. It represents the lowest value among the 172 countries included in the latest global comparative data.

Mean Years of Schooling measures the actual education completed by the current adult population, reflecting past investments. In contrast, Expected Years of Schooling is a forward-looking projection of how many years a child entering the school system today is likely to receive. Together, they provide a comprehensive view of educational progress over time.

About this data
Source
World Bank HD.HCI.LAYS
Definition
Average number of years of education received by people ages 25 and older.
Coverage
Data for 172 countries (2020)
Limitations
Data may lag 1-2 years for some countries. Coverage varies by indicator.