UNDP Human Development Report Office · Mean Years of Schooling
Mean years of schooling by country
How many years of education have adults completed on average?
Germany placed first of the 193 countries compared in 2023, at 14.29637, and Niger last, at 1.41229. In the middle country the figure was 9.93302. Among the 152 countries measured in every edition since 1990, the middle one moved from 5.97180 to 9.99923.
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Mean years of schooling · 2023
Context statistic
Highest of 193Germany
14.29637012023 · position · derived
Who leads
The three countries at the highest end of 193 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
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2Photo: Simon Koopmann derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 2.0 de, greyscale
3Photo: Stefano Brivio · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
Highest on each continent
- Africa
South Africa11.61000 - Americas
United States13.91000 - Asia
Israel13.53459 - EuropeGermany14.29637
- Oceania
Palau13.29903 - Every region
02Every measured country
Mean years of schooling on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a higher value — the better end.
- 1.41229–6.00684
- 6.06025–8.84475
- 8.93065–10.77000
- 10.79275–12.33162
- 12.33537–14.29637
- No reading in 2023
- Europe
12.40998
the middle country, of 42 measured · 49 members
Germany14.29637
Portugal9.70325Highest and lowest reading in Europe.
- Oceania
10.56922
the middle country, of 14 measured · 21 members
Palau13.29903
Papua New Guinea4.96253Highest and lowest reading in Oceania.
- Asia
10.18500
the middle country, of 48 measured · 52 members
Israel13.53459
Afghanistan2.51479Highest and lowest reading in Asia.
- Americas
9.92836
the middle country, of 35 measured · 48 members
United States13.91000
Haiti5.38230Highest and lowest reading in Americas.
- Africa
5.99720
the middle country, of 54 measured · 55 members
South Africa11.61000
Niger1.41229Highest and lowest reading in Africa.
- Every region
22 sub-regions, highest middle country first
- Northern Europe
13.26370
the middle country, of 10 measured · 13 members
Iceland13.90893
Ireland11.72500Highest and lowest reading in Northern Europe.
- Western Europe
12.62966
the middle country, of 8 measured · 9 members
Germany14.29637
France11.76567Highest and lowest reading in Western Europe.
- Eastern Asia
12.35000
the middle country, of 5 measured · 8 members
South Korea12.72220
China8.03618Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Eastern Europe
12.33350
the middle country, of 10 measured · 10 members
Poland13.20854
Ukraine11.12274Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Central Asia
11.91000
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Kazakhstan12.54717
Turkmenistan11.20780Highest and lowest reading in Central Asia.
- Southern Europe
11.45693
the middle country, of 14 measured · 17 members
Slovenia12.95120Portugal9.70325Highest and lowest reading in Southern Europe.
- Western Asia
10.92000
the middle country, of 18 measured · 19 members
Israel13.53459
Yemen5.48415Highest and lowest reading in Western Asia.
- Caribbean
10.12509
the middle country, of 13 measured · 24 members
Bahamas12.81442Haiti5.38230Highest and lowest reading in Caribbean.
- Micronesia
9.44864
the middle country, of 5 measured · 7 members
Palau13.29903
Micronesia7.33252Highest and lowest reading in Micronesia.
- South America
9.35498
the middle country, of 12 measured · 12 members
Chile11.29105
Brazil8.42537Highest and lowest reading in South America.
- South-eastern Asia
8.98000
the middle country, of 11 measured · 11 members
Singapore11.99000
Cambodia5.19710Highest and lowest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Central America
8.80352
the middle country, of 8 measured · 8 members
Panama10.83375
Guatemala5.84730Highest and lowest reading in Central America.
- Southern Africa
8.68520
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
South Africa11.61000
Namibia7.27315Highest and lowest reading in Southern Africa.
- Northern Africa
7.50565
the middle country, of 6 measured · 6 members
Egypt10.13612
Sudan3.96200Highest and lowest reading in Northern Africa.
- Southern Asia
6.79000
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
Iran10.84671Afghanistan2.51479Highest and lowest reading in Southern Asia.
- Middle Africa
6.57418
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
Gabon9.68600
Chad2.33498Highest and lowest reading in Middle Africa.
- Eastern Africa
5.48687
the middle country, of 18 measured · 19 members
Seychelles11.19995
Somalia1.90000Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Western Africa
4.17388
the middle country, of 16 measured · 16 members
Nigeria7.58597Niger1.41229Highest and lowest reading in Western Africa.
- Australia and New Zealand
2 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, New Zealand.
New Zealand12.88300
Australia12.87000Highest and lowest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Melanesia
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu.
Fiji10.37097Papua New Guinea4.96253Highest and lowest reading in Melanesia.
- Northern America
2 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Canada, United States.
United States13.91000
Canada13.87000Highest and lowest reading in Northern America.
- Polynesia
3 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu.
Samoa11.33298
Tuvalu10.76746Highest and lowest reading in Polynesia.
03The whole field at once
The spread
193 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 9.93302; a quarter are above 11.64172, and a quarter below 6.78005. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 193 ever measured
Every country
In order, highest value first. “=” marks a position shared with another country. UNDP Human Development Report Office ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. A low figure describes the schooling of today’s adults, not the schools of today; expected years of schooling is the view of the present system.
Showing 25 of 193 countries
Values for 2023. The change column compares 2023 with 2022 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
051990–2023 · 34 reference years
Over time
Each point is a reference year recalculated in the 2025 Human Development Report on one method. Because it describes adults, the line can only rise as fast as a population turns over — a steep climb here reflects decades of earlier schooling.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 152 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 193 | 9.93302 | 6.78005 – 11.64172 | 9.99923 |
| 2022 | 193 | 9.93302 | 6.57418 – 11.64172 | 9.99923 |
| 2021 | 192 | 9.87505 | 6.72858 – 11.64316 | 9.97651 |
| 2020 | 192 | 9.68097 | 6.66875 – 11.56974 | 9.81004 |
| 2019 | 192 | 9.60566 | 6.50603 – 11.42724 | 9.83602 |
| 2018 | 192 | 9.44222 | 6.31088 – 11.45319 | 9.69375 |
| 2017 | 192 | 9.29873 | 6.23056 – 11.40256 | 9.46583 |
| 2016 | 192 | 9.16125 | 6.10875 – 11.30500 | 9.23886 |
| 2015 | 192 | 9.01398 | 5.98308 – 11.22917 | 9.05500 |
| 2014 | 192 | 8.90875 | 5.87146 – 11.21625 | 9.06000 |
| 2013 | 192 | 8.79317 | 5.77042 – 11.09583 | 9.05879 |
| 2012 | 192 | 8.60509 | 5.69234 – 10.97500 | 8.97000 |
| 2011 | 192 | 8.44807 | 5.58000 – 10.94000 | 8.73500 |
| 2010 | 191 | 8.35650 | 5.56813 – 10.89795 | 8.61750 |
| 2009 | 190 | 8.27624 | 5.56705 – 10.82294 | 8.36500 |
| 2008 | 190 | 8.18922 | 5.44399 – 10.75025 | 8.33000 |
| 2007 | 189 | 8.09842 | 5.37092 – 10.65600 | 8.18750 |
| 2006 | 189 | 7.99556 | 5.33018 – 10.56528 | 8.02739 |
| 2005 | 189 | 7.78043 | 5.28974 – 10.51021 | 7.95751 |
| 2004 | 183 | 7.82684 | 5.32207 – 10.50650 | 7.85668 |
| 2003 | 181 | 7.78031 | 5.10600 – 10.42000 | 7.82300 |
| 2002 | 180 | 7.69411 | 5.08634 – 10.30438 | 7.69425 |
| 2001 | 179 | 7.57006 | 4.89662 – 10.19487 | 7.58753 |
| 2000 | 179 | 7.46354 | 4.79160 – 10.05379 | 7.46414 |
| 1999 | 159 | 7.37421 | 4.68557 – 10.12041 | 7.37622 |
| 1998 | 156 | 7.28508 | 4.70261 – 10.03405 | 7.26999 |
| 1997 | 156 | 7.16219 | 4.56944 – 9.91890 | 7.15471 |
| 1996 | 156 | 7.06546 | 4.45778 – 9.79250 | 6.97423 |
| 1995 | 156 | 6.92066 | 4.35583 – 9.61100 | 6.80804 |
| 1994 | 152 | 6.61974 | 4.25697 – 9.30447 | 6.61974 |
| 1993 | 152 | 6.48269 | 4.10116 – 9.12183 | 6.48269 |
| 1992 | 152 | 6.28605 | 3.97520 – 8.93466 | 6.28605 |
| 1991 | 152 | 6.08542 | 3.84386 – 8.74749 | 6.08542 |
| 1990 | 152 | 5.97180 | 3.71878 – 8.56125 | 5.97180 |
062022 → 2023
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions — reference years recalculated in one report, not two separate publications. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Improved most
before → after
India6.57000 → 6.88000 · 146th → 143rd+0.31000- Yemen5.26799 → 5.48415 · 165th → 164th+0.21616
Azerbaijan10.96250 → 11.07000 · 70th → 69th+0.10750
El Salvador7.25000 → 7.30000 · 140th → 139th+0.05000
193 countries were measured in both 2022 and 2023.
07Across every edition
Mean years of schooling in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
14.29637
Mean years of schooling (adults 25+)
Lowest reading on record
0.32312
Mean years of schooling (adults 25+)
Biggest improvement between editions
+1.32563
3.99000 → 5.31563
Biggest decline between editions
−0.97000
13.43000 → 12.46000
Most improved since first measured
+7.23190
5.75810 → 12.99000
At the top most often
21 of 34
editions, alone at the first-listed end
08The measure
About mean years of schooling
Mean years of schooling is the average number of years of education adults aged 25 and over have actually completed. It is the backward-looking half of the Human Development Index’s education dimension, and the slowest of its parts to move.
What the number is: Mean years of schooling (adults 25+).
09Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Education & Knowledge and Development & Human Capital, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Education & KnowledgeDevelopment & Human CapitalWhich statistics vote, and why
Moves with
Where mean years of schooling is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Inequality-adjusted Human Development IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 169 countries in commonρ 0.92
- Human Development IndexKeyUNDP Human Development Report Office · 193 countries in commonρ 0.90
- Adult Literacy RateUIS · 120 countries in commonρ 0.89
Moves against
Where mean years of schooling is higher, these tend to be lower.
- Coefficient of Human InequalityUNDP Human Development Report Office · 169 countries in commonρ −0.89
- Informal Employment RateILO · 96 countries in commonρ −0.87
- Global Multidimensional Poverty IndexOPHI · 103 countries in commonρ −0.86
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 384 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
10Keep reading
Explore further
The countries at either end
11Questions
Mean years of schooling: questions and answers
Which country has the highest mean years of schooling?
Germany, at 14.29637, among the 193 countries compared in 2023.
Which country has the lowest mean years of schooling?
Niger, at 1.41229, among the 193 countries compared in 2023.
How many countries does the Mean Years of Schooling cover?
193 in 2023. The number measured varies from 152 to 193 between editions.
What is the world average mean years of schooling?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 193 compared in 2023, the figure was 9.93302.
Is this UNDP Human Development Report Office’s own ranking?
No. UNDP Human Development Report Office publishes the values but ranks nobody; the position on this page is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values, and equal values share a position.
How often is the Mean Years of Schooling published?
This site holds 34 reference years, 1990–2023, all recalculated in UNDP Human Development Report Office’s 2025 report on one method — not 34 separate publications.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From UNDP Human Development Report Office, under CC BY 3.0 IGO. From UNDP’s Human Development Report composite-indices file. The 34 reference years come from one report, not 34 publications. UNDP publishes no rank for this figure. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
12Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Mean Years of Schooling — UNDP Human Development Report Office
From UNDP’s Human Development Report composite-indices file. The 34 reference years come from one report, not 34 publications. UNDP publishes no rank for this figure.
Newest edition
Report year 2023Data year 2023
Cite the source as: UNDP. Human Development Report. New York: United Nations Development Programme.
Licence: CC BY 3.0 IGO, checked 2026-09-05.
How this page reads the numbers
- UNDP Human Development Report Office ranks nobody on this measure. The position is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values; equal values share a position.
- Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Photographs
The countries at the top of this statistic, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Germany — dronepicr, CC BY 2.0
- Switzerland — Simon Koopmann derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 2.0 de
- United States — Stefano Brivio, CC BY 2.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Mean years of schooling by country: Mean Years of Schooling, data from UNDP Human Development Report Office. https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/mean-years-schooling