Which has higher average years of schooling, Belgium or Italy?

Belgium, at 11.57 years against 11.51 years in Italy as of 2020.

What is the difference in average years of schooling between Belgium and Italy?

0.06 years, with Belgium ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Belgium and Italy?

31 years are reported by both, from 1870 to 2020.

Where does this data come from?

Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Average years of schooling. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Belgium vs Italy: Average years of schooling

Belgium

11.57 years

in 2020

Italy

11.51 years

in 2020

Belgium rank

28th

Italy rank

31st

Average years of schooling over time

Belgium
Italy

How they compare

Belgium currently reports 11.57 years against 11.51 years in Italy, a difference of 0.06 years.

Across all 31 years both countries report, Belgium has been ahead every year.

Belgium ranks 28th and Italy ranks 31st of 111 countries.

Belgium has averaged higher in every one of the 16 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Belgium	Italy	Difference	Ahead
1870s	2.41 years	0.9 years	1.51 years	Belgium
1880s	2.6 years	1.14 years	1.46 years	Belgium
1890s	2.65 years	1.43 years	1.21 years	Belgium
1900s	2.71 years	1.8 years	0.915 years	Belgium
1910s	3.17 years	2.11 years	1.06 years	Belgium
1920s	3.62 years	2.7 years	0.915 years	Belgium
1930s	4.46 years	3.22 years	1.24 years	Belgium
1940s	5.55 years	3.94 years	1.61 years	Belgium
1950s	7.01 years	4.55 years	2.46 years	Belgium
1960s	7.48 years	5.25 years	2.23 years	Belgium
1970s	8.19 years	6.16 years	2.03 years	Belgium
1980s	9.17 years	7.36 years	1.81 years	Belgium
1990s	10.32 years	8.68 years	1.64 years	Belgium
2000s	11.03 years	9.96 years	1.06 years	Belgium
2010s	11.32 years	10.91 years	0.415 years	Belgium
2020s	11.57 years	11.51 years	0.06 years	Belgium

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher average years of schooling, Belgium or Italy?: Belgium, at 11.57 years against 11.51 years in Italy as of 2020.
What is the difference in average years of schooling between Belgium and Italy?: 0.06 years, with Belgium ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Belgium and Italy?: 31 years are reported by both, from 1870 to 2020.
How do Belgium and Italy rank globally for average years of schooling?: Belgium ranks 28th and Italy ranks 31st of 111 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Average years of schooling. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Belgium vs Italy: Average years of schooling. Statizoid, drawing on Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 31 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/compare/mean-years-of-schooling-long-run/belgium/italy/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/compare/mean-years-of-schooling-long-run/belgium/italy/">Belgium vs Italy: Average years of schooling</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Average years of schooling
Unit: years
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 111 places, 3,441 data points, 1870–2020
Last refreshed: 28 August 2026

Average years of formal education for individuals aged 15-64.