Average years of schooling among adults in Benin
Benin: Average years of schooling among adults was 3.19 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Average years of schooling among adults in Benin, 1990–2023
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2023, average years of schooling among adults in Benin stood at 3.19 years. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of up 22.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, average years of schooling among adults in Benin peaked at 3.19 years in 2021 and was at its lowest, 1.45 years, in 1990.
Benin ranks 184th of 192 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Average years of schooling among adults in Benin, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1.45 years | — |
| 1991 | 1.53 years | +5.3% |
| 1992 | 1.61 years | +5.3% |
| 1993 | 1.7 years | +5.3% |
| 1994 | 1.78 years | +5.0% |
| 1995 | 1.86 years | +4.8% |
| 1996 | 1.95 years | +4.6% |
| 1997 | 2.04 years | +4.4% |
| 1998 | 2.12 years | +4.2% |
| 1999 | 2.21 years | +4.0% |
| 2000 | 2.29 years | +3.9% |
| 2001 | 2.38 years | +3.7% |
| 2002 | 2.46 years | +3.6% |
| 2003 | 2.47 years | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 2.49 years | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 2.5 years | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 2.51 years | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 2.52 years | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 2.54 years | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 2.55 years | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 2.56 years | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 2.57 years | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 2.59 years | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 2.6 years | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 2.61 years | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 2.62 years | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 2.64 years | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 2.65 years | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 2.84 years | +7.2% |
| 2019 | 3.03 years | +6.7% |
| 2020 | 3.11 years | +2.6% |
| 2021 | 3.19 years | +2.6% |
| 2022 | 3.19 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 3.19 years | +0.0% |
Benin compared with similar countries
- Benin's 3.19 years is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 6.79 years, 47% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Benin's 3.19 years is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 5.96 years, 54% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.82 years | 1.45 years | 2.21 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.47 years | 2.29 years | 2.55 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.67 years | 2.56 years | 3.03 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.17 years | 3.11 years | 3.19 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Benin
- 181 Guinea-Bissau 3.67 years compare
- 182 Sierra Leone 3.54 years compare
- 183 Burundi 3.47 years compare
- 185 Senegal 2.93 years compare
- 186 Afghanistan 2.51 years compare
- 187 Guinea 2.49 years compare
More education data for Benin
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 57,296 (2022)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 209,295 (2022)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 85,495 (2022)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 84,746 (2022)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 929,099 (2022)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.40 million (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 5.18 % change on previous year (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1743 units per person (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is average years of schooling among adults in Benin?
- Average years of schooling among adults in Benin was 3.19 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 Benin?
- The highest recorded value was 3.19 years in 2021.
- What is the lowest average years of schooling among adults recorded in Benin?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.45 years in 1990.
- How does Benin rank for average years of schooling among adults?
- Benin ranks 184th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is average years of schooling among adults rising or falling in Benin?
- Over the last ten years it is up 22.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Benin 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
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average number of years (excluding years spent repeating individual grades) adults over 25 years participated in formal education.