Which has higher average years of schooling, Portugal or Thailand?

Portugal, at 9.56 years against 9.32 years in Thailand as of 2020.

What is the difference in average years of schooling between Portugal and Thailand?

0.24 years, with Portugal ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Portugal and Thailand?

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.

Portugal vs Thailand: Average years of schooling

Portugal

9.56 years

in 2020

Thailand

9.32 years

in 2020

Portugal rank

55th

Thailand rank

58th

Average years of schooling over time

Portugal
Thailand

How they compare

Portugal currently reports 9.56 years against 9.32 years in Thailand, a difference of 0.24 years.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 31 shared years of data; in 1870 it was Portugal ahead.

Portugal ranks 55th and Thailand ranks 58th of 111 countries.

Across the 16 decades both report, Portugal averaged higher in 15 and Thailand in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Portugal	Thailand	Difference	Ahead
1870s	0.305 years	0.01 years	0.295 years	Portugal
1880s	0.465 years	0.01 years	0.455 years	Portugal
1890s	0.655 years	0.025 years	0.63 years	Portugal
1900s	0.835 years	0.12 years	0.715 years	Portugal
1910s	0.975 years	0.4 years	0.575 years	Portugal
1920s	1.21 years	0.555 years	0.66 years	Portugal
1930s	1.4 years	0.86 years	0.54 years	Portugal
1940s	1.75 years	1.46 years	0.285 years	Portugal
1950s	2.1 years	2.3 years	0.195 years	Thailand
1960s	2.55 years	2.54 years	0.015 years	Portugal
1970s	3.72 years	2.99 years	0.73 years	Portugal
1980s	5.77 years	4.17 years	1.59 years	Portugal
1990s	7.11 years	5.5 years	1.61 years	Portugal
2000s	8.27 years	6.78 years	1.49 years	Portugal
2010s	8.93 years	8.59 years	0.335 years	Portugal
2020s	9.56 years	9.32 years	0.24 years	Portugal

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher average years of schooling, Portugal or Thailand?: Portugal, at 9.56 years against 9.32 years in Thailand as of 2020.
What is the difference in average years of schooling between Portugal and Thailand?: 0.24 years, with Portugal ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Portugal and Thailand?: 31 years are reported by both, from 1870 to 2020.
How do Portugal and Thailand rank globally for average years of schooling?: Portugal ranks 55th and Thailand ranks 58th 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

Portugal vs Thailand: Average years of schooling. Statizoid, drawing on Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 04 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/compare/mean-years-of-schooling-long-run/portugal/thailand/

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/portugal/thailand/">Portugal vs Thailand: 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.