Average years of schooling of adults statistics - countries compared

Rank	Countries	Amount
# 1	United States:	12
# 2	Norway:	11.8
# 3	New Zealand:	11.7
# 4	Canada:	11.6
# 5	Sweden:	11.4
# 6	Australia:	10.9
# 7	Switzerland:	10.5
# 8	Germany:	10.2
# 9	Finland:	10
# 10	Poland:	9.8
# 11	Denmark:	9.7
# 12	Israel:	9.6
# 13	Japan:	9.5
= 14	United Kingdom:	9.4
= 14	Ireland:	9.4
= 14	Netherlands:	9.4
= 17	Belgium:	9.3
= 17	Slovakia:	9.3
# 19	Cyprus:	9.2
# 20	Hungary:	9.1
= 21	Iceland:	8.8
= 21	Argentina:	8.8
= 23	Barbados:	8.7
= 23	Greece:	8.7
# 25	Panama:	8.6
# 26	Austria:	8.4
# 27	Fiji:	8.3
# 28	Philippines:	8.2
# 29	France:	7.9
# 30	Trinidad and Tobago:	7.8
= 31	Uruguay:	7.6
= 31	Peru:	7.6
# 33	Chile:	7.5
# 34	Spain:	7.3
= 35	Mexico:	7.2
= 35	Italy:	7.2
= 37	Kuwait:	7.1
= 37	Slovenia:	7.1
# 39	Singapore:	7
= 40	Sri Lanka:	6.9
= 40	Jordan:	6.9
# 42	Malaysia:	6.8
# 43	Venezuela:	6.6
# 44	Thailand:	6.5
= 45	China:	6.4
= 45	Ecuador:	6.4
# 47	Botswana:	6.3
= 48	Guyana:	6.2
= 48	Paraguay:	6.2
= 50	South Africa:	6.1
= 50	Bahrain:	6.1
= 52	Costa Rica:	6
= 52	Mauritius:	6
= 52	Swaziland:	6
# 55	Portugal:	5.9
# 56	Syria:	5.8
# 57	Bolivia:	5.6
# 58	Zambia:	5.5
= 59	Algeria:	5.4
= 59	Zimbabwe:	5.4
= 61	Colombia:	5.3
= 61	Jamaica:	5.3
= 61	Turkey:	5.3
# 64	El Salvador:	5.2
# 65	India:	5.1
= 66	Tunisia:	5
= 66	Indonesia:	5
= 68	Brazil:	4.9
= 68	Dominican Republic:	4.9
# 70	Honduras:	4.8
# 71	Nicaragua:	4.6
= 72	Lesotho:	4.2
= 72	Kenya:	4.2
# 74	Iraq:	4
= 75	Ghana:	3.9
= 75	Pakistan:	3.9
= 77	Cameroon:	3.5
= 77	Guatemala:	3.5
= 77	Uganda:	3.5
# 80	Togo:	3.3
# 81	Malawi:	3.2
# 82	Papua New Guinea:	2.9
= 83	Burma:	2.8
= 83	Haiti:	2.8
# 85	Tanzania:	2.7
= 86	Bangladesh:	2.6
= 86	Rwanda:	2.6
= 86	Senegal:	2.6
= 89	Liberia:	2.5
= 89	Central African Republic:	2.5
= 91	Sierra Leone:	2.4
= 91	Nepal:	2.4
= 93	Benin:	2.3
= 93	Gambia, The:	2.3
# 95	Sudan:	2.1
# 96	Afghanistan:	1.7
# 97	Mozambique:	1.1
# 98	Niger:	1
# 99	Mali:	0.9
# 100	Guinea-Bissau:	0.8
	Weighted average:	6.2

DEFINITION: Average years of schooling of adults is the years of formal schooling received, on average, by adults over age 15. (Data Source: Barro-Lee Data Set www.worldbank.org/html/prdmg/grthweb/ddbarle2.htm)

SOURCE: UNESCO

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COMMENTARY

Nicole B. 9th December 2009	Thanks for the helpful and extremely clear, easy-to-understand data! Here's an updated link to the underlying Barro-Lee data-set. http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTEDUCATION/EXTDATASTATISTICS/EXTEDSTATS/0,,contentMDK:21218180~menuPK:4324130~pagePK:64168445~piPK:64168309~theSitePK:3232764,00.html.
furyise 17th November 2009	Catz rule!!
furyise 17th November 2009	Norm, forget about the bottom stuff, just look at the stats
Christian 28th October 2009	Damn Norm, you must be from one of the countries on the bottom of the list.
Conor 5th October 2009	The link to the data source does not work. Does anyone else know where I can find this information?
Norm 31st August 2009	I don't understand these stats. The definition "is years of formal schooling, on average, by adults over age 15." So in the US the average person goes to school until age 27. So the average person graduates from high school at age 18. They do undergraduate or trade school or equivalent for 4 years until age 22 or 23. This leaves 5 years. This would mean that the average person (50% of the population has more and 50% has less) has been in school long enough to get a Phd or some educational equivalent. I know the US has a lot of lawyers but really, that many?
Sini 3rd June 2009	I find Nation Master's data very easy to understand. Try to visit World Bank's statistics and come back. Compared to WB's pages this is really easy stuff. Great pages, thanks!
Ed Beamer 30th October 2005	My child could not understand what the numbers meant. Because lots of children go on this website for research, my suggestion is that you should make it more clear what the statistics under 'discription' means. Thank-you
rhian 31st January 2005	you need to make it more clear and so even if children could under #stand

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Education Statistics > Average years of schooling of adults (most recent) by country

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