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UNDP HDR education indicator

Mean Years of Schooling by Country 2026: Rankings & Charts

Country ranking based on mean years of schooling for adults aged 25 and older. The 2026 label is publication context; the latest source year used for the ranking is 2023 from the UNDP Human Development Report 2025 data release.

Indicator: mean years of schoolingPopulation: adults 25+Latest source year: 2023Coverage: 192 countries/economiesUnit: years

Mean Years of Schooling Statistics

Values are reported in completed years of formal schooling, excluding grade repetition where the source definition applies.

Highest reported value
14.3
Germany, 2023
Lowest reported value
1.4
Niger, 2023
World aggregate
8.4
UNDP/OWID 2023 series
Countries at 12+ years
41
Page-level count from the ranking table
Table median
9.9
Page-level median across 192 reported values

Highest Reported Mean Years of Schooling, 2023

Top 20 countries/economies by reported adult mean years of schooling.

The chart is a visual slice of the ranking. The full table carries all 192 reported country/economy values.

Chart analysis
  • Germany is the highest reported country/economy at 14.3 years.
  • Four entries share 13.9 years: United States, Switzerland, Iceland, and Canada.
  • The 20th entry in the visual slice, New Zealand, reports 12.9 years.
  • The top 20 range is compact: 1.4 years separates Germany from New Zealand.

Full Country Ranking Table

Ranking is ordered by latest reported 2023 mean years of schooling for adults aged 25 and older.

RankCountry or economyMean yearsYear
1Germany14.32023
2United States13.92023
3Switzerland13.92023
4Iceland13.92023
5Canada13.92023
6Lithuania13.62023
7Estonia13.62023
8Israel13.52023
9United Kingdom13.52023
10Latvia13.42023
11Palau13.32023
12Poland13.22023
13Norway13.12023
14Slovakia13.12023
15Denmark13.02023
16United Arab Emirates13.02023
17Finland13.02023
18Czechia13.02023
19Slovenia13.02023
20New Zealand12.92023
21Australia12.92023
22Bahamas12.82023
23Montenegro12.82023
24Sweden12.72023
25South Korea12.72023
26Georgia12.72023
27Belgium12.72023
28Japan12.72023
29Netherlands12.72023
30Luxembourg12.62023
31Cyprus12.62023
32Kazakhstan12.52023
33Malta12.42023
34Russia12.42023
35Liechtenstein12.42023
36Austria12.42023
37Belarus12.32023
38Hungary12.32023
39Croatia12.12023
40Kyrgyzstan12.12023
41Singapore12.02023
42Uzbekistan11.92023
43Oman11.92023
44Moldova11.82023
45France11.82023
46Ireland11.72023
47Antigua and Barbuda11.62023
48Serbia11.62023
49Marshall Islands11.62023
50South Africa11.62023
51Andorra11.62023
52Saudi Arabia11.62023
53Greece11.62023
54Romania11.62023
55Bulgaria11.52023
56San Marino11.42023
57Armenia11.32023
58Samoa11.32023
59Saint Vincent and the Grenadines11.32023
60Chile11.32023
61Tajikistan11.32023
62Turkmenistan11.22023
63Seychelles11.22023
64Argentina11.22023
65Bahrain11.12023
66Ukraine11.12023
67Malaysia11.12023
68Azerbaijan11.12023
69Bosnia and Herzegovina11.02023
70Tonga10.92023
71Saint Kitts and Nevis10.82023
72Iran10.82023
73Panama10.82023
74Italy10.82023
75Trinidad and Tobago10.82023
76Qatar10.82023
77Sri Lanka10.82023
78Tuvalu10.82023
79Spain10.82023
80Cuba10.62023
81Uruguay10.52023
82Botswana10.52023
83Fiji10.42023
84Lebanon10.42023
85Jordan10.22023
86North Macedonia10.22023
87Albania10.22023
88Peru10.22023
89Egypt10.12023
90Palestine10.12023
91Dominica10.12023
92Mauritius10.12023
93Bolivia10.02023
94Philippines10.02023
95Jamaica10.02023
96Nicaragua9.92023
97Barbados9.92023
98Portugal9.72023
99Gabon9.72023
100Venezuela9.72023
101Nauru9.42023
102Grenada9.42023
103Dominican Republic9.42023
104Mongolia9.42023
105Mexico9.32023
106Brunei9.32023
107Kiribati9.12023
108Thailand9.02023
109Colombia9.02023
110Turkey9.02023
111Vietnam9.02023
112Ecuador9.02023
113Zimbabwe8.92023
114Paraguay8.92023
115Costa Rica8.82023
116Belize8.82023
117Guyana8.72023
118Indonesia8.72023
119Eswatini8.72023
120Kenya8.62023
121Saint Lucia8.62023
122Suriname8.42023
123Brazil8.42023
124Congo8.32023
125Equatorial Guinea8.32023
126China8.02023
127Libya7.82023
128Lesotho7.72023
129Tunisia7.62023
130Nigeria7.62023
131Kuwait7.62023
132Honduras7.52023
133Algeria7.42023
134Maldives7.42023
135Zambia7.42023
136Democratic Republic of Congo7.42023
137Micronesia (country)7.32023
138El Salvador7.32023
139Namibia7.32023
140Vanuatu7.22023
141Ghana7.12023
142India6.92023
143Bangladesh6.82023
144Iraq6.82023
145Cameroon6.62023
146Myanmar6.42023
147Uganda6.32023
148East Timor6.22023
149Morocco6.22023
150Liberia6.22023
151Cape Verde6.12023
152Tanzania6.12023
153Laos6.12023
154Comoros6.02023
155Sao Tome and Principe6.02023
156Angola6.02023
157Syria5.92023
158Solomon Islands5.92023
159Togo5.92023
160Guatemala5.82023
161Bhutan5.82023
162South Sudan5.72023
163Yemen5.52023
164Haiti5.42023
165Malawi5.22023
166Cambodia5.22023
167Eritrea5.12023
168Papua New Guinea5.02023
169Rwanda4.92023
170Cote d’Ivoire4.92023
171Mauritania4.92023
172Gambia4.72023
173Madagascar4.62023
174Mozambique4.62023
175Nepal4.52023
176Pakistan4.32023
177Central African Republic4.02023
178Sudan4.02023
179Djibouti4.02023
180Guinea-Bissau3.72023
181Sierra Leone3.52023
182Burundi3.52023
183Benin3.22023
184Senegal2.92023
185Afghanistan2.52023
186Guinea2.52023
187Ethiopia2.42023
188Chad2.32023
189Burkina Faso2.32023
190Somalia1.92023
191Mali1.62023
192Niger1.42023
Table analysis
  • The ranking contains 192 countries/economies with reported 2023 values.
  • The reported spread is 12.9 years, from Germany at 14.3 to Niger at 1.4.
  • 41 countries/economies report at least 12.0 years of mean schooling.
  • 95 countries/economies report at least 10.0 years.
  • 24 countries/economies report below 5.0 years.
  • The page-level median is 9.9 years, calculated from the visible country/economy values.
  • Rank order is metric-specific and does not measure learning outcomes, school quality, or current enrollment.

World Trend Since 1990

The UNDP/OWID series covers 1990-2023. The trend module uses verified world aggregate endpoints from the published data view.

World Mean Years of Schooling, 1990 and 2023

World aggregate for adults aged 25 and older.

The world aggregate increased by 3.0 years between 1990 and 2023 in the source series.

Trend analysis
  • The world aggregate moved from 5.4 years in 1990 to 8.4 years in 2023.
  • The endpoint change is +3.0 years, equal to a relative increase of about 56%.
  • The trend is an adult attainment measure; it changes slowly because it reflects the stock of schooling among adults aged 25 and older.
Aggregate19902023ChangeSource
World5.48.4+3.0 yearsUNDP HDR 2025 / OWID

Regional and Income-Group Summary

Aggregates are source-reported group values from the same 2023 UNDP/OWID indicator view; they are not calculated from the country rows on this page.

Selected Aggregates, 2023

Source-reported regional and income-group values for adult mean years of schooling.

Group aggregates use source-defined geography and income classifications, so they should not be read as simple averages of the country table.

Source-year analysis
  • High-income countries report the highest income-group aggregate at 12.8 years.
  • Low-income countries report 4.1 years in the same source view.
  • Among the selected regional aggregates, Europe is highest at 12.4 years.
  • The World aggregate is 8.4 years, below the 192-country table median of 9.9 years.

Interpretation Notes

Mean years of schooling is an attainment stock indicator. It is not a current enrollment rate.

Adult Attainment

The indicator measures completed formal schooling among adults aged 25 and older. It reflects accumulated schooling across older and younger adult cohorts.

Slow-Moving Metric

Adult mean years can change gradually even when current school enrollment changes faster, because older cohorts remain part of the measurement base.

Coverage Boundary

The ranking includes countries/economies with reported 2023 values in the selected UNDP/OWID indicator view. Non-reported geographies are not assigned values.

Not a Learning Score

The measure does not report test performance, grade completion quality, informal learning, or the distribution of schooling within a country.

Source and Methodology

Main source UNDP Human Development Report 2025, accessed through the UNDP/OWID average years of schooling indicator view.
Indicator definition Average number of completed years of formal education among people aged 25 and older.
Latest value year 2023; the 2026 label refers to publication context, not a projected data year.
Unit Years of schooling, rounded to one decimal place for the country table.
Coverage 192 countries/economies with reported 2023 values in the selected source view.
Historical range Source series range shown by OWID/UNDP is 1990-2023.
Primary link UNDP Human Development Reports data downloads
Dataset view Average years of schooling – UNDP/OWID
Definition support UNESCO UIS mean years of schooling glossary

Ranking uses the latest reported country/economy value for 2023. Values are sorted from highest to lowest and rounded to one decimal place. Median and threshold counts are page-level calculations from the visible 192-row country/economy table. Group aggregates are source-reported values and are not recalculated from the country rows.

Methodological Safety Note

Mean years of schooling ranks countries only on completed adult schooling years in the selected UNDP indicator. It does not establish causality, measure learning quality, or compare current enrollment. Cross-country comparison requires caution because education systems, attainment reporting, survey timing, and classification practices can differ.

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Complete guide: Completion Attainment

Related Topics

Guides:Completion Attainment