Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years was 10.86 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years in Sri Lanka, 1971–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 10.86 for mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years in Sri Lanka peaked at 10.97 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 4.74, in 1971.
Sri Lanka ranks 59th of 124 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.
Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 4.74 | — |
| 1981 | 5.68 | +19.8% |
| 2001 | 10.6 | +86.5% |
| 2006 | 10.38 | -2.0% |
| 2007 | 10.35 | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 10.41 | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 10.51 | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 10.67 | +1.6% |
| 2017 | 10.74 | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 10.8 | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 10.57 | -2.1% |
| 2020 | 10.97 | +3.8% |
| 2021 | 10.68 | -2.6% |
| 2022 | 10.72 | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 10.79 | +0.7% |
| 2024 | 10.86 | +0.6% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 10.86 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 9.95, 1.1× the median. (38 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years in Sri Lanka changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | +86.5% | 5.68 | 10.6 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.74 | 4.74 | 4.74 | 1 |
| 1980s | 5.68 | 5.68 | 5.68 | 1 |
| 2000s | 10.45 | 10.35 | 10.6 | 5 |
| 2010s | 10.69 | 10.57 | 10.8 | 4 |
| 2020s | 10.8 | 10.68 | 10.97 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 56 Azerbaijan 11.07 compare
- 57 Albania 11.03 compare
- 58 Bosnia and Herzegovina 10.97 compare
- 60 Trinidad and Tobago 10.79 compare
- 61 Italy 10.74 compare
- 62 Panama 10.68 compare
More education data for Sri Lanka
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 155,543 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 224,799 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 214,300 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.54 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.58 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.89 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0715 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years in Sri Lanka?
- Mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years in Sri Lanka was 10.86 in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 10.97 in 2020.
- What is the lowest mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.74 in 1971.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years?
- Sri Lanka ranks 59th out of 124 countries with data for 2024.
- Is mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years, both sexes. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release