Average years of schooling among adults in Barbados
Barbados: Average years of schooling among adults was 9.93 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Average years of schooling among adults in Barbados, 1990–2023
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Barbados recorded 9.93 years for average years of schooling among adults in 2023. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, average years of schooling among adults in Barbados peaked at 9.93 years in 2021 and was at its lowest, 8.37 years, in 1990.
Barbados ranks 98th of 192 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 8.82 years | 8.37 years | 9.02 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.39 years | 8.99 years | 9.63 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.72 years | 9.65 years | 9.85 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.92 years | 9.89 years | 9.93 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Barbados
More education data for Barbados
- Duration of pre-primary education 2 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 65.8% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 17.1% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 11 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 5 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 83.9% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 1,592 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.71 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 83.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is average years of schooling among adults in Barbados?
- Average years of schooling among adults in Barbados was 9.93 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 among adults recorded in Barbados?
- The highest recorded value was 9.93 years in 2021.
- What is the lowest average years of schooling among adults recorded in Barbados?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.37 years in 1990.
- How does Barbados rank for average years of schooling among adults?
- Barbados ranks 98th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is average years of schooling among adults rising or falling in Barbados?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Barbados 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 among adults. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Average number of years (excluding years spent repeating individual grades) adults over 25 years participated in formal education.