Which has higher average years of schooling, Burkina Faso or Mali?

Mali, at 2.31 years against 2.11 years in Burkina Faso as of 2020.

How many years of comparable data are there for Burkina Faso and Mali?

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

Where does this data come from?

Leandro Prados de la Escosura (2021) – with minor 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.

Burkina Faso vs Mali: Average years of schooling

Burkina Faso

2.11 years

in 2020

Mali

2.31 years

in 2020

Burkina Faso rank

162nd

Mali rank

159th

Average years of schooling over time

Burkina Faso
Mali

How they compare

Mali currently reports 2.31 years against 2.11 years in Burkina Faso, a difference of 0.2 years.

That makes Mali's figure about 1.1 times Burkina Faso's.

Across all 24 years both countries report, Mali has been ahead every year.

Burkina Faso ranks 162nd and Mali ranks 159th of 162 countries.

Mali has averaged higher in every one of the 15 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Burkina Faso	Mali	Difference	Ahead
1870s	0.1 years	0.1 years	0 years	—
1880s	0.1 years	0.1 years	0 years	—
1890s	0.1 years	0.1 years	0 years	—
1900s	0.1 years	0.1 years	0 years	—
1910s	0.1 years	0.1 years	0 years	—
1920s	0.1 years	0.1175 years	0.0175 years	Mali
1930s	0.1 years	0.135 years	0.035 years	Mali
1950s	0.1 years	0.1649 years	0.0649 years	Mali
1960s	0.1 years	0.2398 years	0.1398 years	Mali
1970s	0.1294 years	0.4072 years	0.2778 years	Mali
1980s	0.27 years	0.7863 years	0.5164 years	Mali
1990s	0.5406 years	0.9898 years	0.4491 years	Mali
2000s	1.02 years	1.45 years	0.4264 years	Mali
2010s	1.43 years	2.16 years	0.7262 years	Mali
2020s	2.11 years	2.31 years	0.195 years	Mali

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher average years of schooling, Burkina Faso or Mali?: Mali, at 2.31 years against 2.11 years in Burkina Faso as of 2020.
What is the difference in average years of schooling between Burkina Faso and Mali?: 0.2 years, with Mali ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Burkina Faso and Mali?: 24 years are reported by both, from 1870 to 2020.
How do Burkina Faso and Mali rank globally for average years of schooling?: Burkina Faso ranks 162nd and Mali ranks 159th of 162 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Leandro Prados de la Escosura (2021) – with minor 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

Burkina Faso vs Mali: Average years of schooling. Statizoid, drawing on Leandro Prados de la Escosura (2021) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 15 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/compare/years-of-schooling-prados-de-la-escosura/burkina-faso/mali/

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/years-of-schooling-prados-de-la-escosura/burkina-faso/mali/">Burkina Faso vs Mali: Average years of schooling</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Average years of schooling
Unit: years
Source: Leandro Prados de la Escosura (2021) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 163 places, 3,421 data points, 1870–2020
Last refreshed: 28 August 2026

Average number of years of total schooling (primary, secondary, and tertiary) for the population aged 15 and over.