Canada vs United States of America: Average years of schooling
Canada
12.93 years
in 2020
United States of America
13.32 years
in 2020
Canada rank
7th
United States of America rank
4th
Average years of schooling over time
- Canada
- United States of America
How they compare
United States of America currently reports 13.32 years against 12.93 years in Canada, a difference of 0.39 years.
Across all 31 years both countries report, United States of America has been ahead every year.
Canada ranks 7th and United States of America ranks 4th of 111 countries.
United States of America has averaged higher in every one of the 16 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Canada | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 2.75 years | 4.42 years | 1.67 years | United States of America |
| 1880s | 3 years | 5.03 years | 2.03 years | United States of America |
| 1890s | 3.27 years | 5.74 years | 2.48 years | United States of America |
| 1900s | 4.17 years | 6.55 years | 2.38 years | United States of America |
| 1910s | 5 years | 6.87 years | 1.86 years | United States of America |
| 1920s | 5.73 years | 7.38 years | 1.65 years | United States of America |
| 1930s | 6.6 years | 8.12 years | 1.52 years | United States of America |
| 1940s | 7.3 years | 8.8 years | 1.5 years | United States of America |
| 1950s | 7.93 years | 8.94 years | 1.01 years | United States of America |
| 1960s | 8.7 years | 10.03 years | 1.33 years | United States of America |
| 1970s | 9.75 years | 11.41 years | 1.67 years | United States of America |
| 1980s | 10.39 years | 12.31 years | 1.92 years | United States of America |
| 1990s | 10.91 years | 12.69 years | 1.78 years | United States of America |
| 2000s | 11.94 years | 13.05 years | 1.11 years | United States of America |
| 2010s | 12.79 years | 13.27 years | 0.48 years | United States of America |
| 2020s | 12.93 years | 13.32 years | 0.39 years | United States of America |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher average years of schooling, Canada or United States of America?
- United States of America, at 13.32 years against 12.93 years in Canada as of 2020.
- What is the difference in average years of schooling between Canada and United States of America?
- 0.39 years, with United States of America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Canada and United States of America?
- 31 years are reported by both, from 1870 to 2020.
- How do Canada and United States of America rank globally for average years of schooling?
- Canada ranks 7th and United States of America ranks 4th of 111 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) β 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
About this data
Average years of formal education for individuals aged 15-64.