Years of schooling in Germany
Germany: Years of schooling was 14.3 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
14.3
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
1st
of 192 countries
All-time high
14.3
in 2021
All-time low
10.36
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023
Years of schooling in Germany, 1990–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for years of schooling in Germany is 14.3, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, years of schooling in Germany peaked at 14.3 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 10.36, in 1990.
Germany ranks 1st of 192 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Years of schooling in Germany, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 10.36 | — |
| 1991 | 10.57 | +2.0% |
| 1992 | 10.78 | +2.0% |
| 1993 | 10.99 | +2.0% |
| 1994 | 11.21 | +1.9% |
| 1995 | 11.42 | +1.9% |
| 1996 | 11.62 | +1.8% |
| 1997 | 11.82 | +1.7% |
| 1998 | 12.02 | +1.7% |
| 1999 | 12.22 | +1.7% |
| 2000 | 12.42 | +1.6% |
| 2001 | 12.76 | +2.8% |
| 2002 | 13.11 | +2.7% |
| 2003 | 13.45 | +2.6% |
| 2004 | 13.8 | +2.6% |
| 2005 | 13.7 | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 13.6 | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 13.68 | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 13.76 | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 13.83 | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 13.85 | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 13.93 | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 13.98 | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 14.01 | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 14.04 | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 14.08 | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 14.13 | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 14.11 | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 14.08 | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 14.17 | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 14.26 | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 14.3 | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 14.3 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 14.3 | +0.0% |
Germany compared with similar countries
- Germany's 14.3 is above the median for high income countries, which is 12.39, 1.2× the median. (64 countries reporting)
- Germany's 14.3 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 12.34, 1.2× the median. (51 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 11.3 | 10.36 | 12.22 | 10 |
| 2000s | 13.41 | 12.42 | 13.83 | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.04 | 13.85 | 14.17 | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.29 | 14.26 | 14.3 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Germany
- 2 Switzerland 13.95 compare
- 3 United States 13.91 compare
- 4 Iceland 13.91 compare
More education data for Germany
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 98.48 (2022)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.73 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 618,670 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 15,242 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.35 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.27 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.97 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.31 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.83 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is years of schooling in Germany?
- Years of schooling in Germany was 14.3 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest years of schooling recorded in Germany?
- The highest recorded value was 14.3 in 2021.
- What is the lowest years of schooling recorded in Germany?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.36 in 1990.
- How does Germany rank for years of schooling?
- Germany ranks 1st out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is years of schooling rising or falling in Germany?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Germany 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).