Canada vs United States of America: Average years of schooling
Canada
13.83 years
in 2020
United States of America
13.68 years
in 2020
Canada rank
3rd
United States of America rank
5th
Average years of schooling over time
- Canada
- United States of America
How they compare
Canada currently reports 13.83 years against 13.68 years in United States of America, a difference of 0.15 years.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 24 shared years of data; in 1870 it was Canada ahead.
Canada ranks 3rd and United States of America ranks 5th of 162 countries.
Across the 15 decades both report, Canada averaged higher in 8 and United States of America in 7.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Canada | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 5.71 years | 5.57 years | 0.14 years | Canada |
| 1880s | 6.2 years | 6.02 years | 0.18 years | Canada |
| 1890s | 6.68 years | 6.6 years | 0.08 years | Canada |
| 1900s | 7.1 years | 7.09 years | 0.01 years | Canada |
| 1910s | 7.63 years | 7.46 years | 0.17 years | Canada |
| 1920s | 8.39 years | 8.33 years | 0.059 years | Canada |
| 1930s | 8.79 years | 8.76 years | 0.0349 years | Canada |
| 1950s | 9.22 years | 9.76 years | 0.5386 years | United States of America |
| 1960s | 9.58 years | 10.52 years | 0.9395 years | United States of America |
| 1970s | 10.26 years | 11.31 years | 1.05 years | United States of America |
| 1980s | 11.29 years | 12.11 years | 0.8262 years | United States of America |
| 1990s | 12.4 years | 12.89 years | 0.4869 years | United States of America |
| 2000s | 13.12 years | 13.13 years | 0.0142 years | United States of America |
| 2010s | 13.09 years | 13.41 years | 0.3214 years | United States of America |
| 2020s | 13.83 years | 13.68 years | 0.151 years | Canada |
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?
- Canada, at 13.83 years against 13.68 years in United States of America as of 2020.
- What is the difference in average years of schooling between Canada and United States of America?
- 0.15 years, with Canada ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Canada and United States of America?
- 24 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 3rd and United States of America ranks 5th of 162 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Leandro Prados de la Escosura (2021) β 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
About this data
Average number of years of total schooling (primary, secondary, and tertiary) for the population aged 15 and over.