Mean years of schooling long run in China
China: Mean years of schooling long run was 8.99 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Mean years of schooling long run in China, 1870–2020
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2020, mean years of schooling long run in China stood at 8.99. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 9.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, mean years of schooling long run in China peaked at 8.99 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.01, in 1870.
That places China 65th out of 111 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Mean years of schooling long run in China, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 0.01 | — |
| 1875 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1880 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1885 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1890 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1895 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1900 | 0.02 | +100.0% |
| 1905 | 0.02 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.04 | +100.0% |
| 1915 | 0.06 | +50.0% |
| 1920 | 0.08 | +33.3% |
| 1925 | 0.16 | +100.0% |
| 1930 | 0.26 | +62.5% |
| 1935 | 0.36 | +38.5% |
| 1940 | 1.39 | +286.1% |
| 1945 | 1.53 | +10.1% |
| 1950 | 1.79 | +17.0% |
| 1955 | 2.18 | +21.8% |
| 1960 | 2.8 | +28.4% |
| 1965 | 3.4 | +21.4% |
| 1970 | 4.16 | +22.4% |
| 1975 | 4.83 | +16.1% |
| 1980 | 5.74 | +18.8% |
| 1985 | 6.16 | +7.3% |
| 1990 | 6.45 | +4.7% |
| 1995 | 7.17 | +11.2% |
| 2000 | 7.79 | +8.6% |
| 2005 | 8.02 | +3.0% |
| 2010 | 8.25 | +2.9% |
| 2015 | 8.51 | +3.2% |
| 2020 | 8.99 | +5.6% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 8.99 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 9.83, 91% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
- China's 8.99 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 10.81, 83% of the median. (13 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Mean years of schooling long run in China 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | +286.1% | 0.36 | 1.39 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 2 |
| 1880s | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 2 |
| 1890s | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 2 |
| 1900s | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 2 |
| 1910s | 0.05 | 0.04 | 0.06 | 2 |
| 1920s | 0.12 | 0.08 | 0.16 | 2 |
| 1930s | 0.31 | 0.26 | 0.36 | 2 |
| 1940s | 1.46 | 1.39 | 1.53 | 2 |
| 1950s | 1.99 | 1.79 | 2.18 | 2 |
| 1960s | 3.1 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 2 |
| 1970s | 4.5 | 4.16 | 4.83 | 2 |
| 1980s | 5.95 | 5.74 | 6.16 | 2 |
| 1990s | 6.81 | 6.45 | 7.17 | 2 |
| 2000s | 7.9 | 7.79 | 8.02 | 2 |
| 2010s | 8.38 | 8.25 | 8.51 | 2 |
| 2020s | 8.99 | 8.99 | 8.99 | 1 |
Countries ranked near China
More education data for China
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 93.37 (1997)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 93.32 (1997)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.41 million (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 7,020 (2021)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 21.58 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 19.36 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 97.98 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 108.57 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9587 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is mean years of schooling long run in China?
- Mean years of schooling long run in China was 8.99 in 2020, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest mean years of schooling long run recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 8.99 in 2020.
- What is the lowest mean years of schooling long run recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.01 in 1870.
- How does China rank for mean years of schooling long run?
- China ranks 65th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is mean years of schooling long run rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Mean years of schooling long run. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).