Countries · education · 2023 data
Education Ranking by Country
Countries ranked by the UN education index, which combines how many years of school children can expect and how many years adults have actually completed. Iceland leads with 0.964; Mali is last with 0.249.
193
Countries ranked
13.6 yrs
Average expected schooling
9.2 yrs
Average years adults studied
United Arab Emirates
Most improved in 10 years
Top 10 education systems
UNDP education index, 0–1
- Top 5%
- Top 15%
- Top 30%
- Top half
- Lower half
- Bottom 25%
Education index of every country
| Rank | Country | Education index | Expected years | Mean years | Spending (% GDP) | 10-year change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Iceland |
0.964 | 18.9 | 13.9 | 7.3% | +0.024 |
| 2 |  Germany |
0.957 | 17.3 | 14.3 | 5.2% | +0.016 |
| 3 |  United Kingdom |
0.944 | 17.8 | 13.5 | 5.9% | +0.026 |
| 4 |  Norway |
0.937 | 18.8 | 13.1 | 5.4% | +0.024 |
| 5 |  Denmark |
0.934 | 18.7 | 13.0 | 6.4% | +0.009 |
| 6 |  Finland |
0.933 | 19.5 | 13.0 | 6.4% | +0.014 |
| 7 |  New Zealand |
0.929 | 19.3 | 12.9 | 5.2% | -0.015 |
| 8 |  Australia |
0.929 | 20.7 | 12.9 | 5.1% | +0.028 |
| 9 |  Switzerland |
0.928 | 16.7 | 13.9 | 4.9% | +0.032 |
| 10 |  Sweden |
0.925 | 19.0 | 12.7 | 7.3% | +0.017 |
| 11 |  Belgium |
0.923 | 19.0 | 12.7 | 6.3% | +0.038 |
| 12 |  Netherlands |
0.922 | 18.6 | 12.7 | 5.2% | +0.020 |
| 13 |  Slovenia |
0.917 | 17.5 | 13.0 | 5.3% | +0.013 |
| 14 |  Lithuania |
0.911 | 16.5 | 13.6 | 4.3% | +0.023 |
| 15 |  United States |
0.906 | 15.9 | 13.9 | 5.4% | +0.006 |
| 16 |  Latvia |
0.905 | 16.5 | 13.4 | 4.3% | +0.031 |
| 17 |  Canada |
0.904 | 15.9 | 13.9 | 4.8% | +0.010 |
| 18 |  Poland |
0.904 | 16.7 | 13.2 | 4.3% | +0.017 |
| 19 |  Czechia |
0.899 | 16.8 | 13.0 | 4.3% | +0.010 |
| 20 |  Estonia |
0.896 | 16.0 | 13.6 | 5.2% | -0.014 |
| 21 |  Ireland |
0.891 | 19.2 | 11.7 | 2.9% | +0.019 |
| 22 |  Georgia |
0.889 | 16.8 | 12.7 | 4.0% | +0.058 |
| 23 |  South Korea |
0.886 | 16.6 | 12.7 | 5.4% | +0.025 |
| 24 |  Greece |
0.885 | 20.8 | 11.6 | 3.4% | +0.052 |
| 25 |  Hong Kong |
0.881 | 16.9 | 12.4 | 3.8% | +0.038 |
| 26 |  Seychelles |
0.873 | 18.2 | 11.2 | 4.5% | +0.111 |
| 27 |  Argentina |
0.873 | 18.8 | 11.2 | 5.0% | +0.031 |
| 28 |  Cyprus |
0.869 | 16.2 | 12.6 | 4.7% | +0.079 |
| 29 |  United Arab Emirates |
0.866 | 15.6 | 13.0 | 3.9% | +0.227 |
| 30 |  Israel |
0.866 | 14.9 | 13.5 | 5.9% | +0.020 |
| 31 |  Singapore |
0.865 | 16.7 | 12.0 | 2.2% | +0.017 |
| 32 |  Austria |
0.864 | 16.3 | 12.4 | 5.3% | +0.026 |
| 33 |  Saint Kitts and Nevis |
0.862 | 18.4 | 10.8 | 3.5% | +0.031 |
| 34 |  Tonga |
0.858 | 17.8 | 10.9 | 5.3% | +0.046 |
| 35 |  Saudi Arabia |
0.858 | 16.9 | 11.6 | 4.5% | +0.158 |
| 36 |  Montenegro |
0.857 | 15.5 | 12.8 | — | +0.042 |
| 37 |  Croatia |
0.857 | 16.3 | 12.1 | 4.1% | +0.052 |
| 38 |  Malta |
0.856 | 15.9 | 12.4 | 4.7% | +0.061 |
| 39 |  Spain |
0.854 | 17.8 | 10.8 | 4.6% | +0.057 |
| 40 |  Japan |
0.854 | 15.5 | 12.7 | 3.3% | +0.007 |
| 41 |  Slovakia |
0.852 | 14.9 | 13.1 | 4.7% | +0.017 |
| 42 |  Chile |
0.846 | 16.9 | 11.3 | 4.9% | +0.065 |
| 43 |  Marshall Islands |
0.843 | 16.4 | 11.6 | 7.7% | +0.092 |
| 44 |  Liechtenstein |
0.842 | 15.4 | 12.4 | — | +0.031 |
| 45 |  Hungary |
0.841 | 15.5 | 12.3 | 3.8% | +0.001 |
| 46 |  France |
0.839 | 16.1 | 11.8 | 5.3% | +0.041 |
| 47 |  Uruguay |
0.837 | 17.5 | 10.5 | 4.8% | +0.113 |
| 48 |  Palau |
0.834 | 14.1 | 13.3 | 3.4% | -0.010 |
| 49 |  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
0.828 | 16.3 | 11.3 | 6.5% | +0.071 |
| 50 |  Italy |
0.825 | 16.7 | 10.8 | 4.1% | +0.044 |
| 51 |  Antigua and Barbuda |
0.819 | 15.5 | 11.6 | 3.1% | +0.020 |
| 52 |  Luxembourg |
0.819 | 14.4 | 12.6 | 3.7% | -0.011 |
| 53 |  Bahrain |
0.813 | 15.9 | 11.1 | 1.9% | +0.117 |
| 54 |  Portugal |
0.809 | 17.5 | 9.7 | 4.6% | +0.066 |
| 55 |  Kazakhstan |
0.807 | 14.0 | 12.5 | 4.9% | +0.014 |
| 56 |  Bulgaria |
0.807 | 15.3 | 11.5 | 4.5% | +0.022 |
| 57 |  Serbia |
0.806 | 15.0 | 11.6 | 3.4% | +0.051 |
| 58 |  Moldova |
0.801 | 14.6 | 11.8 | 6.6% | +0.024 |
| 59 |  Türkiye |
0.800 | 19.8 | 9.0 | 3.1% | +0.079 |
| 60 |  Barbados |
0.793 | 16.6 | 9.9 | 3.6% | +0.030 |
| 61 |  Belarus |
0.792 | 13.7 | 12.3 | 5.0% | -0.026 |
| 62 |  Andorra |
0.791 | 14.5 | 11.6 | 1.9% | +0.118 |
| 63 |  San Marino |
0.784 | 14.6 | 11.4 | 2.9% | +0.023 |
| 64 |  Russia |
0.780 | 13.2 | 12.4 | 4.2% | -0.043 |
| 65 |  Armenia |
0.778 | 14.4 | 11.3 | 2.4% | +0.043 |
| 66 |  Grenada |
0.775 | 16.6 | 9.4 | 5.1% | +0.009 |
| 66 |  Romania |
0.775 | 14.1 | 11.6 | 3.3% | +0.001 |
| 68 |  South Africa |
0.770 | 13.8 | 11.6 | 6.0% | +0.049 |
| 69 |  Oman |
0.770 | 13.4 | 11.9 | 4.4% | +0.075 |
| 70 |  Bolivia |
0.768 | 15.6 | 10.0 | 7.5% | +0.048 |
| 71 |  Bahamas |
0.758 | 11.9 | 12.8 | 2.7% | +0.029 |
| 72 |  Kyrgyzstan |
0.755 | 12.7 | 12.1 | 6.8% | +0.029 |
| 73 |  Trinidad and Tobago |
0.755 | 14.2 | 10.8 | 3.2% | +0.034 |
| 74 |  Peru |
0.753 | 14.9 | 10.2 | 4.4% | +0.054 |
| 75 |  North Macedonia |
0.752 | 14.8 | 10.2 | — | +0.034 |
| 76 |  Iran |
0.750 | 14.0 | 10.8 | 2.8% | -0.008 |
| 77 |  Costa Rica |
0.749 | 16.3 | 8.8 | 5.3% | +0.065 |
| 78 |  Uzbekistan |
0.743 | 12.5 | 11.9 | 5.5% | +0.045 |
| 79 |  Albania |
0.742 | 14.5 | 10.2 | 3.1% | -0.020 |
| 80 |  Turkmenistan |
0.741 | 13.2 | 11.2 | 4.3% | +0.074 |
| 81 |  Ukraine |
0.741 | 13.3 | 11.1 | 5.1% | -0.051 |
| 82 |  Cuba |
0.740 | 13.9 | 10.6 | 8.4% | -0.028 |
| 83 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina |
0.731 | 13.2 | 11.0 | 3.2% | +0.068 |
| 84 |  Panama |
0.731 | 13.3 | 10.8 | 2.5% | +0.040 |
| 85 |  Dominica |
0.731 | 14.2 | 10.1 | 5.4% | +0.032 |
| 86 |  Fiji |
0.730 | 13.8 | 10.4 | 4.2% | +0.029 |
| 87 |  Mauritius |
0.730 | 14.2 | 10.1 | 4.2% | +0.029 |
| 88 |  Vietnam |
0.729 | 15.5 | 9.0 | 2.9% | +0.093 |
| 89 |  Thailand |
0.728 | 15.4 | 9.0 | 2.5% | +0.092 |
| 90 |  Azerbaijan |
0.728 | 12.9 | 11.1 | 3.7% | +0.036 |
| 91 |  Qatar |
0.724 | 13.1 | 10.8 | 3.2% | +0.050 |
| 92 |  Sri Lanka |
0.724 | 13.1 | 10.8 | 1.8% | +0.000 |
| 93 |  Samoa |
0.723 | 12.4 | 11.3 | 5.5% | -0.001 |
| 94 |  Malaysia |
0.722 | 12.7 | 11.1 | 3.5% | +0.026 |
| 95 |  Brazil |
0.720 | 15.8 | 8.4 | 5.6% | +0.053 |
| 96 |  Mexico |
0.714 | 14.5 | 9.3 | 4.1% | +0.048 |
| 97 |  Eswatini |
0.713 | 15.2 | 8.7 | 6.0% | +0.132 |
| 98 |  Ecuador |
0.712 | 14.9 | 9.0 | 3.7% | +0.035 |
| 99 |  Jordan |
0.706 | 13.1 | 10.2 | 3.2% | +0.011 |
| 100 |  Tuvalu |
0.703 | 12.4 | 10.8 | 12.8% | +0.050 |
| 101 |  Egypt |
0.703 | 13.1 | 10.1 | — | +0.105 |
| 102 |  Palestine |
0.699 | 13.0 | 10.1 | 5.4% | +0.037 |
| 103 |  Colombia |
0.698 | 14.3 | 9.0 | 5.3% | +0.029 |
| 104 |  China |
0.698 | 15.5 | 8.0 | 3.9% | +0.078 |
| 105 |  Kuwait |
0.694 | 15.9 | 7.6 | 6.4% | +0.089 |
| 106 |  Dominican Republic |
0.693 | 13.6 | 9.4 | 3.8% | +0.061 |
| 107 |  Mongolia |
0.693 | 13.6 | 9.4 | 5.2% | -0.062 |
| 108 |  Brunei |
0.690 | 13.7 | 9.3 | — | -0.017 |
| 109 |  Philippines |
0.689 | 12.8 | 10.0 | 4.0% | +0.044 |
| 110 |  Paraguay |
0.686 | 14.0 | 8.9 | 3.5% | +0.041 |
| 111 |  Venezuela |
0.683 | 13.0 | 9.7 | — | -0.012 |
| 112 |  Algeria |
0.678 | 15.5 | 7.4 | 9.0% | +0.073 |
| 113 |  Tajikistan |
0.677 | 10.8 | 11.3 | 5.4% | -0.003 |
| 114 |  Jamaica |
0.676 | 12.4 | 10.0 | 5.5% | +0.026 |
| 115 |  Nauru |
0.672 | 12.8 | 9.4 | 5.8% | +0.065 |
| 116 |  Lebanon |
0.670 | 11.7 | 10.4 | 1.2% | +0.028 |
| 117 |  Gabon |
0.670 | 12.5 | 9.7 | 2.3% | +0.053 |
| 118 |  Botswana |
0.667 | 11.4 | 10.5 | 8.1% | +0.025 |
| 119 |  Tunisia |
0.661 | 14.7 | 7.6 | 6.7% | +0.039 |
| 120 |  Indonesia |
0.660 | 13.3 | 8.7 | 1.3% | +0.033 |
| 121 |  Guyana |
0.652 | 13.0 | 8.7 | 4.5% | +0.055 |
| 122 |  Nicaragua |
0.651 | 11.5 | 9.9 | 2.9% | +0.055 |
| 123 |  Saint Lucia |
0.641 | 12.7 | 8.6 | 3.8% | +0.014 |
| 124 |  Kiribati |
0.634 | 11.9 | 9.1 | 16.4% | +0.037 |
| 125 |  Republic of the Congo |
0.630 | 12.7 | 8.3 | 3.3% | +0.068 |
| 126 |  Morocco |
0.625 | 15.1 | 6.2 | 6.0% | +0.129 |
| 127 |  Belize |
0.625 | 12.0 | 8.8 | 4.6% | -0.050 |
| 128 |  Equatorial Guinea |
0.623 | 12.5 | 8.3 | — | +0.088 |
| 129 |  Libya |
0.618 | 12.9 | 7.8 | — | -0.037 |
| 130 |  Kenya |
0.606 | 11.5 | 8.6 | 4.0% | +0.088 |
| 131 |  Zimbabwe |
0.605 | 11.1 | 8.9 | 0.4% | +0.038 |
| 132 |  Maldives |
0.602 | 12.8 | 7.4 | 5.2% | +0.075 |
| 133 |  India |
0.589 | 13.0 | 6.9 | 4.1% | +0.078 |
| 134 |  Suriname |
0.585 | 11.0 | 8.4 | 2.9% | +0.008 |
| 135 |  Timor-Leste |
0.576 | 13.3 | 6.2 | 5.2% | +0.033 |
| 136 |  Namibia |
0.570 | 11.8 | 7.3 | 9.1% | +0.023 |
| 137 |  Comoros |
0.570 | 13.3 | 6.0 | 2.3% | +0.092 |
| 138 |  Iraq |
0.569 | 12.4 | 6.8 | — | +0.037 |
| 139 |  Bangladesh |
0.568 | 12.3 | 6.8 | 2.0% | +0.112 |
| 140 |  Vanuatu |
0.568 | 11.8 | 7.2 | 7.6% | +0.048 |
| 141 |  Micronesia |
0.565 | 11.5 | 7.3 | 11.6% | +0.005 |
| 142 |  Lesotho |
0.563 | 11.0 | 7.7 | 6.6% | +0.034 |
| 143 |  Bhutan |
0.560 | 13.2 | 5.8 | 5.8% | +0.127 |
| 144 |  Togo |
0.559 | 13.1 | 5.9 | 4.1% | +0.089 |
| 145 |  Sao Tome and Principe |
0.557 | 12.9 | 6.0 | 5.0% | +0.067 |
| 146 |  Ghana |
0.554 | 11.4 | 7.1 | 2.9% | +0.051 |
| 147 |  Zambia |
0.553 | 11.0 | 7.4 | 4.1% | +0.028 |
| 148 |  El Salvador |
0.552 | 11.1 | 7.3 | 3.3% | -0.008 |
| 149 |  DR Congo |
0.549 | 10.9 | 7.4 | 2.8% | +0.096 |
| 150 |  Nigeria |
0.545 | 10.5 | 7.6 | 0.3% | +0.086 |
| 151 |  Angola |
0.537 | 12.2 | 6.0 | 2.5% | +0.102 |
| 152 |  Honduras |
0.533 | 10.2 | 7.5 | 4.5% | +0.068 |
| 153 |  Myanmar |
0.532 | 11.5 | 6.4 | 2.0% | +0.104 |
| 153 |  Nepal |
0.532 | 13.8 | 4.5 | 3.7% | +0.061 |
| 155 |  Uganda |
0.532 | 11.6 | 6.3 | 2.6% | +0.048 |
| 156 |  Cameroon |
0.519 | 10.8 | 6.6 | 2.8% | +0.007 |
| 157 |  Cape Verde |
0.519 | 11.4 | 6.1 | 4.3% | -0.028 |
| 158 |  Rwanda |
0.512 | 12.6 | 4.9 | 4.6% | +0.113 |
| 159 |  Solomon Islands |
0.510 | 11.3 | 5.9 | 8.3% | +0.011 |
| 160 |  Liberia |
0.496 | 10.5 | 6.2 | 2.3% | +0.072 |
| 161 |  Guatemala |
0.492 | 10.7 | 5.8 | 3.1% | +0.027 |
| 162 |  Papua New Guinea |
0.485 | 11.5 | 5.0 | 0.8% | +0.093 |
| 163 |  Cambodia |
0.484 | 11.2 | 5.2 | 2.2% | +0.054 |
| 164 |  Haiti |
0.482 | 10.9 | 5.4 | 1.0% | +0.018 |
| 165 |  Côte d'Ivoire |
0.479 | 11.4 | 4.9 | 3.6% | +0.102 |
| 166 |  Laos |
0.469 | 9.6 | 6.1 | 1.2% | -0.007 |
| 167 |  Mozambique |
0.454 | 10.8 | 4.6 | 6.0% | +0.069 |
| 168 |  Malawi |
0.450 | 9.9 | 5.2 | 2.7% | -0.011 |
| 169 |  Tanzania |
0.441 | 8.6 | 6.1 | 3.2% | +0.018 |
| 170 |  Guinea-Bissau |
0.418 | 10.6 | 3.7 | — | +0.035 |
| 171 |  Gambia |
0.405 | 9.0 | 4.7 | 2.8% | +0.068 |
| 172 |  Madagascar |
0.405 | 9.1 | 4.6 | 3.0% | -0.038 |
| 173 |  Syria |
0.404 | 7.4 | 5.9 | — | -0.038 |
| 174 |  Benin |
0.397 | 10.4 | 3.2 | 3.2% | -0.026 |
| 175 |  Yemen |
0.391 | 7.5 | 5.5 | — | +0.047 |
| 176 |  Burundi |
0.389 | 9.8 | 3.5 | 4.5% | +0.013 |
| 177 |  Afghanistan |
0.384 | 10.8 | 2.5 | — | +0.034 |
| 178 |  Mauritania |
0.383 | 7.9 | 4.9 | 7.6% | +0.007 |
| 179 |  Eritrea |
0.374 | 7.3 | 5.1 | — | +0.009 |
| 180 |  Guinea |
0.372 | 10.4 | 2.5 | 1.7% | +0.065 |
| 181 |  Sudan |
0.372 | 8.6 | 4.0 | — | +0.040 |
| 182 |  Sierra Leone |
0.370 | 9.1 | 3.5 | 2.6% | +0.015 |
| 183 |  Pakistan |
0.363 | 7.9 | 4.3 | 1.9% | +0.026 |
| 184 |  Senegal |
0.352 | 9.1 | 2.9 | 6.2% | +0.008 |
| 185 |  South Sudan |
0.348 | 5.6 | 5.7 | — | +0.007 |
| 186 |  Central African Republic |
0.340 | 7.4 | 4.0 | 1.8% | +0.044 |
| 187 |  Ethiopia |
0.336 | 9.2 | 2.4 | 2.3% | +0.029 |
| 188 |  Burkina Faso |
0.318 | 8.7 | 2.3 | 5.3% | +0.067 |
| 189 |  Chad |
0.310 | 8.3 | 2.3 | 3.2% | +0.029 |
| 190 |  Djibouti |
0.304 | 6.2 | 4.0 | 3.8% | +0.060 |
| 191 |  Niger |
0.278 | 8.3 | 1.4 | 4.1% | +0.074 |
| 192 |  Somalia |
0.271 | 7.5 | 1.9 | 0.0% | — |
| 193 |  Mali |
0.249 | 7.0 | 1.6 | 4.2% | -0.011 |
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Data: UNDP Human Development Report 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO), 2023; education spending: World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0).
How the education index works
The United Nations measures education with two numbers: expected years of schooling — how long a child starting school today can expect to study (capped at 18) — and mean years of schooling of adults aged 25+ (capped at 15). Each is scaled to 0–1 and averaged. The index is part of the Human Development Index.
The best and worst education systems
The top ten — Iceland, Germany, United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland and Sweden — combine near-universal university access with adult populations that have studied 13 years or more. At the bottom, Mali, Somalia, Niger, Djibouti and Chad have adults who average only 1.4–3 years of schooling, often because of conflict and poverty.
By continent
- Europe: average 0.853, best Iceland (0.964)
- Americas: average 0.721, best United States (0.906)
- Oceania: average 0.713, best New Zealand (0.929)
- Asia: average 0.677, best South Korea (0.886)
- Africa: average 0.502, best Seychelles (0.873)
Progress over ten years
Since 2013 the biggest gains were made by United Arab Emirates (+0.227), Saudi Arabia (+0.158), Eswatini (+0.132), Morocco (+0.129) and Bhutan (+0.127). Spending is not everything: the highest education budgets relative to GDP are in Kiribati (16.4%), Tuvalu (12.8%), Micronesia (11.6%) and Namibia (9.1%).
Related rankings
Frequently asked questions
Which country has the best education system?
Iceland has the highest UN education index (0.964), followed by Germany, United Kingdom, Norway and Denmark.
Which country has the worst education?
Mali has the lowest education index (0.249).
How many years do people spend in school?
Children starting school today can expect about 13.6 years of education on average across countries; today's adults studied for 9.2 years on average.