Average years of schooling vs. expected years of schooling in Jamaica

Jamaica: Average years of schooling vs. expected years of schooling was 9.96 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
9.96 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
96th
of 192 countries
All-time high
9.96 years
in 2022
All-time low
6.69 years
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Average years of schooling vs. expected years of schooling in Jamaica, 1990–2023

02468101990200620231990: 6.7 years1991: 6.8 years1992: 6.9 years1993: 6.9 years1994: 7 years1995: 7.1 years1996: 7.2 years1997: 7.3 years1998: 7.4 years1999: 7.4 years2000: 7.5 years2001: 7.6 years2002: 7.7 years2003: 7.8 years2004: 7.9 years2005: 7.9 years2006: 8 years2007: 8.1 years2008: 8.2 years2009: 8.3 years2010: 8.4 years2011: 8.4 years2012: 8.6 years2013: 8.7 years2014: 8.9 years2015: 9 years2016: 9.1 years2017: 9.3 years2018: 9.4 years2019: 9.5 years2020: 9.7 years2021: 9.8 years2022: 10 years2023: 10 years

Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

Jamaica recorded 9.96 years for average years of schooling vs. expected years of schooling in 2023. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.

The figure is up 14.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, average years of schooling vs. expected years of schooling in Jamaica peaked at 9.96 years in 2022 and was at its lowest, 6.69 years, in 1990.

That places Jamaica 96th out of 192 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 7.06 years 6.69 years 7.44 years 10
2000s 7.9 years 7.52 years 8.27 years 10
2010s 8.93 years 8.36 years 9.55 years 10
2020s 9.86 years 9.68 years 9.96 years 4

Countries ranked near Jamaica

  1. 93 Mauritius 10.1 years compare
  2. 94 Bolivia 10.02 years compare
  3. 95 Philippines 9.98 years compare
  4. 97 Nicaragua 9.93 years compare
  5. 98 Barbados 9.93 years compare
  6. 99 Portugal 9.7 years compare

See the full ranking of 192 places →

More education data for Jamaica

All data for Jamaica →

Frequently asked questions

What is average years of schooling vs. expected years of schooling in Jamaica?
Average years of schooling vs. expected years of schooling in Jamaica was 9.96 years in 2023, according to UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest average years of schooling vs. expected years of schooling recorded in Jamaica?
The highest recorded value was 9.96 years in 2022.
What is the lowest average years of schooling vs. expected years of schooling recorded in Jamaica?
The lowest recorded value was 6.69 years in 1990.
How does Jamaica rank for average years of schooling vs. expected years of schooling?
Jamaica ranks 96th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
Is average years of schooling vs. expected years of schooling rising or falling in Jamaica?
Over the last ten years it is up 14.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Jamaica data come from?
The figures come from UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Average years of schooling vs. expected years of schooling. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Average years of schooling vs. expected years of schooling
Unit
years
Source
UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
192 places, 6,079 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

Average number of years (excluding years spent repeating individual grades) adults over 25 years participated in formal education.