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 10.8 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 10.8 for mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years in 2024.
That represents a change of up 0.7% on the previous year and up 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years in Sri Lanka peaked at 11.02 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 3.95, in 1971.
That places Sri Lanka 58th out of 121 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 | 3.95 | — |
| 1981 | 5.27 | +33.3% |
| 2001 | 10.39 | +97.3% |
| 2006 | 10.15 | -2.3% |
| 2007 | 10.26 | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 10.28 | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 10.37 | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 10.72 | +3.4% |
| 2017 | 10.76 | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 10.84 | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 10.51 | -3.0% |
| 2020 | 11.02 | +4.8% |
| 2021 | 10.58 | -3.9% |
| 2022 | 10.66 | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 10.73 | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 10.8 | +0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3.95 | 3.95 | 3.95 | 1 |
| 1980s | 5.27 | 5.27 | 5.27 | 1 |
| 2000s | 10.29 | 10.15 | 10.39 | 5 |
| 2010s | 10.71 | 10.51 | 10.84 | 4 |
| 2020s | 10.76 | 10.58 | 11.02 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
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 10.8 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 11.02 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 3.95 in 1971.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years?
- Sri Lanka ranks 58th out of 121 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 0.8%. 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, female. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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