Latest available · compiled 2017

Intergenerational Persistence in Education, 2017 compilation

Name: Intergenerational Persistence in Education, 2017 compilation
Creator: World Bank Group
License: https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/search/dataset/0050771/global-database-on-intergenerational-mobility

Each country’s newest reading as of 2017; every row carries its own year · stored as published, never rewritten

This measures how closely a person’s schooling follows their parents’: the correlation between the years of schooling of people born in the 1980s and those of their better-schooled parent. Near 0, how far a child gets in school has little to do with the family they were born into; the higher it is, the more a family’s education is passed down.

Intergenerational Persistence in Education, 2017 compilation covers 153 countries on 3 measures. Bulgaria is highest, at 0.66012; Maldives is lowest, at 0.12345. The middle country reads 0.44656. 4 readings are more than ten years older than the file and are listed but not compared.

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Intergenerational Persistence in Education · Latest available · compiled 2017

HighestBulgaria

0.66012

LowestMaldives

0.12345

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the lowest end.

153countries
3measures per country
2017compiled · readings from many years
153distinct values8 decimals, as published
Sep 29, 2026read from the publisher
CC BY 4.0licence

01Position · derived

The table

Every country and every column of Intergenerational Persistence in Education, 2017 compilation, as published. World Bank Group ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. “=” marks a shared position.

Search this table

Showing 25 of 153 countries · select a heading to sort

Intergenerational Persistence in Education, 2017 compilation: every country, as published by World Bank Group.
derived
1	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe · 2012 reading	0.66012	38.382	0.10768	Retrospective question	2012
2	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe · 2016 reading	0.62295	35.304	0.11005	Retrospective question	2016
3	Panama`PAN`Central America · 2008 reading	0.62146	32.234	0.10121	Retrospective question	2008
4	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe · 2016 reading	0.61891	40.250	0.13644	Retrospective question	2016
5	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa · 2007 reading	0.60781	34.946	0.06979	Co-residents only	2007
6	Mali`MLI`Western Africa · 2014 reading	0.60406	43.642	0.13251	Retrospective question	2014
7	Guatemala`GTM`Central America · 2014 reading	0.60350	36.728	0.09397	Retrospective question	2014
8	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa · 2009 reading	0.60130	43.819	0.15783	Co-residents only	2009
9	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa · 2011 reading	0.59681	28.847	0.12764	Co-residents only	2011
10	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa · 2012 reading	0.59585	39.751	0.10725	Retrospective question	2012
11	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia · 2015 reading	0.58597	37.695	0.10189	Co-residents only	2015
12	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa · 2015 reading	0.58554	34.982	0.10170	Co-residents only	2015
13	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia · 2010 reading	0.57649	35.759	0.08189	Co-residents only	2010
14	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa · 2010 reading	0.57596	38.107	0.08684	Co-residents only	2010
15	Benin`BEN`Western Africa · 2011 reading	0.56771	41.031	0.14411	Retrospective question	2011
16	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa · 2012 reading	0.56576	34.352	0.11247	Retrospective question	2012
17	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa · 2011 reading	0.56321	38.621	0.13325	Co-residents only	2011
18	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa · 2012 reading	0.56248	32.736	0.10726	Retrospective question	2012
19	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia · 2013 reading	0.55707	34.991	0.08807	Mix	2013
20	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa · 2008 reading	0.55669	31.910	0.13477	Co-residents only	2008
21	Togo`TGO`Western Africa · 2015 reading	0.55552	41.999	0.10825	Retrospective question	2015
22	India`IND`Southern Asia · 2011 reading	0.55490	37.274	0.08879	Retrospective question	2011
23	Bolivia`BOL`South America · 2008 reading	0.55103	34.219	0.11231	Retrospective question	2008
24	Colombia`COL`South America · 2013 reading	0.54822	34.311	0.11187	Retrospective question	2013
25	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe · 2016 reading	0.54439	35.886	0.12071	Retrospective question	2016
26	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa · 2011 reading	0.54322	37.751	0.10223	Co-residents only	2011
27	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa · 2012 reading	0.53940	45.419	0.12820	Mix	2012
28	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa · 2008 reading	0.53700	40.274	0.09167	Co-residents only	2008
29	Ecuador`ECU`South America · 2013 reading	0.53538	34.943	0.10748	Retrospective question	2013
30	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa · 2009 reading	0.53326	37.755	0.11683	Co-residents only	2009
31	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe · 2016 reading	0.53070	38.685	0.13969	Retrospective question	2016
32	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa · 2008 reading	0.52938	38.397	0.11832	Co-residents only	2008
33	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean · 2012 reading	0.52476	35.746	0.07600	Co-residents only	2012
34	Brazil`BRA`South America · 2014 reading	0.52391	36.325	0.08540	Retrospective question	2014
35	Chile`CHL`South America · 2013 reading	0.52098	35.693	0.09851	Retrospective question	2013
36	Uruguay`URY`South America · 2017 reading	0.51922	37.014	0.11483	Retrospective question	2017
37	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa · 2015 reading	0.51894	36.531	0.08263	Co-residents only	2015
38	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe · 2016 reading	0.51760	38.191	0.14128	Retrospective question	2016
39	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa · 2009 reading	0.51733	35.344	0.12124	Co-residents only	2009
40	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia · 2012 reading	0.51494	38.426	0.09369	Retrospective question	2012
41	Honduras`HND`Central America · 2017 reading	0.50842	41.635	0.11292	Retrospective question	2017
42	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia · 2011 reading	0.50828	38.309	0.11745	Co-residents only	2011
43	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia · 2016 reading	0.50794	42.334	0.14985	Retrospective question	2016
44	Peru`PER`South America · 2014 reading	0.50758	35.565	0.11962	Retrospective question	2014
45	Argentina`ARG`South America · 2017 reading	0.50657	37.991	0.12611	Retrospective question	2017
46	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa · 2017 reading	0.50312	36.636	0.09088	Co-residents only	2017
47	Mexico`MEX`Central America · 2011 reading	0.50212	36.039	0.11223	Retrospective question	2011
48	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa · 2014 reading	0.49969	39.768	0.10689	Retrospective question	2014
49	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia · 2011 reading	0.49888	33.505	0.14447	Co-residents only	2011
50	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia · 2014 reading	0.49834	40.992	0.12437	Retrospective question	2014
51	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa · 2011 reading	0.49653	48.690	0.16121	Co-residents only	2011
52	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia · 2016 reading	0.49077	37.520	0.11322	Retrospective question	2016
53	Austria`AUT`Western Europe · 2016 reading	0.48982	37.071	0.12619	Retrospective question	2016
54	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia · 2012 reading	0.48911	43.018	0.14391	Retrospective question	2012
55	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe · 2016 reading	0.48857	36.926	0.11971	Retrospective question	2016
56	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia · 2011 reading	0.48374	39.565	0.10857	Retrospective question	2011
57	El Salvador`SLV`Central America · 2017 reading	0.48208	36.567	0.09824	Retrospective question	2017
58	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa · 2013 reading	0.48082	36.562	0.10229	Retrospective question	2013
59	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe · 2016 reading	0.47870	40.172	0.14059	Retrospective question	2016
60	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe · 2016 reading	0.47574	39.585	0.15102	Retrospective question	2016
61	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe · 2016 reading	0.47448	35.585	0.12387	Retrospective question	2016
62	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa · 2012 reading	0.47396	39.761	0.10565	Retrospective question	2012
63	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe · 2016 reading	0.47376	45.544	0.14806	Retrospective question	2016
64	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa · 2008 reading	0.47339	41.440	0.11997	Co-residents only	2008
65	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia · 2012 reading	0.47211	36.793	0.12406	Retrospective question	2012
66	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa · 2013 reading	0.47199	44.550	0.14709	Retrospective question	2013
67	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia · 2016 reading	0.47011	38.320	0.10245	Retrospective question	2016
68	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe · 2016 reading	0.46545	38.283	0.13660	Retrospective question	2016
69	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe · 2016 reading	0.46333	42.766	0.15915	Retrospective question	2016
70	China`CHN`Eastern Asia · 2012 reading	0.46088	36.485	0.12475	Retrospective question	2012
71	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia · 2013 reading	0.45640	41.733	0.12813	Co-residents only	2013
72	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe · 2016 reading	0.45530	38.432	0.13606	Retrospective question	2016
73	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa · 2012 reading	0.45166	42.229	0.11673	Retrospective question	2012
74	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia · 2016 reading	0.45132	37.023	0.12009	Retrospective question	2016
75	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe · 2016 reading	0.44656	39.401	0.16945	Retrospective question	2016
76	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe · 2016 reading	0.44642	38.755	0.13924	Retrospective question	2016
77	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia · 2015 reading	0.44601	39.575	0.15927	Retrospective question	2015
78	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa · 2012 reading	0.44586	40.523	0.12961	Retrospective question	2012
79	Paraguay`PRY`South America · 2017 reading	0.44556	45.203	0.13948	Retrospective question	2017
80	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia · 2012 reading	0.44312	38.971	0.15598	Co-residents only	2012
81	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa · 2009 reading	0.43881	46.861	0.18692	Co-residents only	2009
82	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa · 2013 reading	0.43852	45.743	0.13959	Retrospective question	2013
83	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe · 2016 reading	0.43763	37.832	0.14609	Retrospective question	2016
84	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America · 2017 reading	0.43723	39.548	0.13429	Retrospective question	2017
85	Tuvalu`TUV`Polynesia · 2010 reading	0.43430	44.975	0.15049	Co-residents only	2010
86	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia · 2010 reading	0.43391	39.371	0.13760	Co-residents only	2010
87	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia · 2012 reading	0.42903	40.196	0.11994	Co-residents only	2012
88	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia · 2012 reading	0.42706	41.133	0.15101	Retrospective question	2012
89	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe · 2012 reading	0.42132	43.126	0.16230	Retrospective question	2012
90	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa · 2017 reading	0.42004	36.365	0.11685	Retrospective question	2017
91	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe · 2016 reading	0.41782	40.370	0.14658	Retrospective question	2016
92	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia · 2014 reading	0.41646	37.191	0.14591	Co-residents only	2014
93	Niger`NER`Western Africa · 2014 reading	0.41496	48.093	0.21449	Retrospective question	2014
94	United States`USA`Northern America · 2015 reading	0.41302	35.509	0.11929	Retrospective question	2015
95	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa · 2014 reading	0.41052	37.297	0.15209	Retrospective question	2014
96	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia · 2015 reading	0.41043	37.099	0.13476	Retrospective question	2015
97	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia · 2016 reading	0.40945	39.762	0.14706	Retrospective question	2016
98	Israel`ISR`Western Asia · 2016 reading	0.40272	45.646	0.15261	Retrospective question	2016
99	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia · 2011 reading	0.40232	37.984	0.11149	Co-residents only	2011
100	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa · 2014 reading	0.40214	35.643	0.14313	Retrospective question	2014
101	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe · 2012 reading	0.40157	39.898	0.18021	Retrospective question	2012
102	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe · 2016 reading	0.39843	38.894	0.11637	Retrospective question	2016
103	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America · 2017 reading	0.39798	42.002	0.16987	Retrospective question	2017
104	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia · 2003 reading, too old to compare	0.39762	53.110	0.22141	Retrospective question	2003
105	Venezuela`VEN`South America · 2017 reading	0.39754	44.133	0.17360	Retrospective question	2017
106	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa · 2013 reading	0.39747	40.555	0.13919	Mix	2013
107	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa · 2013 reading	0.39712	48.443	0.18137	Retrospective question	2013
108	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa · 2006 reading, too old to compare	0.39315	41.933	0.16026	Retrospective question	2006
109	France`FRA`Western Europe · 2016 reading	0.39227	41.814	0.14103	Retrospective question	2016
110	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia · 2016 reading	0.39164	37.401	0.16957	Retrospective question	2016
111	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe · 2016 reading	0.38958	37.442	0.15242	Retrospective question	2016
112	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa · 2015 reading	0.38908	38.915	0.19758	Retrospective question	2015
113	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia · 2010 reading	0.38630	40.885	0.13773	Retrospective question	2010
114	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe · 2016 reading	0.38453	41.327	0.14109	Retrospective question	2016
115	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe · 2016 reading	0.38397	40.785	0.14692	Retrospective question	2016
116	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa · 2008 reading	0.38375	45.259	0.17476	Mix	2008
117	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe · 2016 reading	0.37044	39.873	0.15678	Retrospective question	2016
118	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe · 2016 reading	0.36924	41.709	0.16482	Retrospective question	2016
119	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia · 2008 reading	0.36884	39.868	0.14970	Co-residents only	2008
120	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe · 2016 reading	0.36697	39.968	0.14225	Retrospective question	2016
121	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa · 2014 reading	0.36278	39.124	0.15281	Retrospective question	2014
122	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe · 2016 reading	0.36003	41.860	0.12487	Retrospective question	2016
123	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean · 2017 reading	0.35149	42.467	0.18263	Retrospective question	2017
124	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia · 2009 reading	0.35023	43.393	0.15893	Co-residents only	2009
125	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia · 2014 reading	0.34902	39.637	0.15298	Retrospective question	2014
126	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia · 2014 reading	0.34443	46.239	0.17041	Co-residents only	2014
127	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe · 2016 reading	0.34121	44.351	0.17606	Retrospective question	2016
128	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe · 2016 reading	0.33451	41.332	0.18120	Retrospective question	2016
129	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe · 2016 reading	0.33294	41.015	0.13276	Retrospective question	2016
130	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia · 2007 reading	0.32198	45.532	0.16840	Retrospective question	2007
131	Canada`CAN`Northern America · 2014 reading	0.31679	40.820	0.14668	Retrospective question	2014
132	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa · 2010 reading	0.31258	45.087	0.09991	Co-residents only	2010
133	Kiribati`KIR`Micronesia · 2006 reading, too old to compare	0.31257	39.624	0.20515	Co-residents only	2006
134	Germany`DEU`Western Europe · 2016 reading	0.30953	43.768	0.17211	Retrospective question	2016
135	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia · 2012 reading	0.30559	41.681	0.16647	Retrospective question	2012
136	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe · 2016 reading	0.30510	42.811	0.13701	Retrospective question	2016
137	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia · 2016 reading	0.30372	37.323	0.15244	Retrospective question	2016
138	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa · 2014 reading	0.30359	48.425	0.15590	Retrospective question	2014
139	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa · 2007 reading	0.29965	41.375	0.18136	Co-residents only	2007
140	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia · 2016 reading	0.29909	42.875	0.16227	Retrospective question	2016
141	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe · 2016 reading	0.28497	44.903	0.12846	Retrospective question	2016
142	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe · 2016 reading	0.27954	41.888	0.16824	Retrospective question	2016
143	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia · 2016 reading	0.26931	41.894	0.14293	Retrospective question	2016
144	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia · 2012 reading	0.25773	49.771	0.21617	Retrospective question	2012
145	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand · 2015 reading	0.24653	38.214	0.15483	Retrospective question	2015
146	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa · 2017 reading	0.24242	42.806	0.21489	Retrospective question	2017
147	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand · 1999 reading, too old to compare	0.21901	45.928	0.21034	Retrospective question	1999
148	Tonga`TON`Polynesia · 2009 reading	0.21565	44.019	0.18104	Co-residents only	2009
149	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa · 2010 reading	0.21184	42.372	0.16648	Co-residents only	2010
150	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa · 2012 reading	0.17781	47.191	0.24434	Co-residents only	2012
151	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe · 2014 reading	0.17075	47.132	0.20293	Retrospective question	2014
152	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia · 2012 reading	0.16530	46.108	0.19161	Mix	2012
153	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia · 2009 reading	0.12345	46.719	0.23566	Co-residents only	2009

02In Intergenerational Persistence in Education, 2017 compilation

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline, then the highest and lowest on each other measure. Readings too old to compare take no part.

Highest

1Bulgaria0.66012
2Romania0.62295
3Panama0.62146
4Hungary0.61891
5Cameroon0.60781

Lowest

153Maldives0.12345
152Philippines0.16530
151Denmark0.17075
150Mauritius0.17781
149São Tomé and Príncipe0.21184

A higher value is the worse result. The middle country reads 0.44656. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

Each measure’s ends

Expected schooling rank of a child of bottom-half parents (0–100)
HighestCyprus49.771
LowestRepublic of the Congo28.847
Middle country: 39.751
Chance a child of bottom-half parents reaches the top quarter (0–1)
HighestMauritius0.24434
LowestCameroon0.06979
Middle country: 0.13760

03Caveats

Read before you use

How values are stored

Readings from many years
Each country’s newest reading as of 2017, from 1999 to 2017. 4 are more than ten years older than the file: listed and marked, but left out of the ends and the changes.
Nothing missing
Every one of the 153 countries has every column.

04The files

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GDIM_2023_03.csv

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World Bank Group (2017). Intergenerational Persistence in Education, 2017 compilation [data set]. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/intergenerational-persistence/2017

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