Years of schooling in Canada
Canada: Years of schooling was 13.87 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
13.87
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
5th
of 192 countries
All-time high
13.87
in 2021
All-time low
10.75
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023
Years of schooling in Canada, 1990–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2023, years of schooling in Canada stood at 13.87. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, years of schooling in Canada peaked at 13.87 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 10.75, in 1990.
That places Canada 5th out of 192 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Years of schooling in Canada, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 10.75 | — |
| 1991 | 10.92 | +1.6% |
| 1992 | 11.09 | +1.6% |
| 1993 | 11.27 | +1.6% |
| 1994 | 11.44 | +1.5% |
| 1995 | 11.62 | +1.5% |
| 1996 | 11.79 | +1.5% |
| 1997 | 11.96 | +1.5% |
| 1998 | 12.14 | +1.5% |
| 1999 | 12.31 | +1.4% |
| 2000 | 12.49 | +1.4% |
| 2001 | 12.66 | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 12.79 | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 12.92 | +1.0% |
| 2004 | 13.06 | +1.0% |
| 2005 | 13.19 | +1.0% |
| 2006 | 13.32 | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 13.37 | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 13.42 | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 13.46 | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 13.51 | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 13.56 | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 13.59 | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 13.63 | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 13.66 | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 13.7 | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 13.73 | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 13.76 | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 13.79 | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 13.81 | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 13.84 | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 13.87 | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 13.87 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 13.87 | +0.0% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 13.87 is above the median for high income countries, which is 12.39, 1.1× the median. (64 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 11.53 | 10.75 | 12.31 | 10 |
| 2000s | 13.07 | 12.49 | 13.46 | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.67 | 13.51 | 13.81 | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.86 | 13.84 | 13.87 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More education data for Canada
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 95.11 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 95.01 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 133,275 (1996)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2011)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 291,075 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 273,465 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.70 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.43 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.83 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is years of schooling in Canada?
- Years of schooling in Canada was 13.87 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest years of schooling recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 13.87 in 2021.
- What is the lowest years of schooling recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.75 in 1990.
- How does Canada rank for years of schooling?
- Canada ranks 5th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is years of schooling rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Years of schooling. 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).