Average years of schooling among adults in Jamaica
Jamaica: Average years of schooling among adults was 9.96 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Average years of schooling among adults in Jamaica, 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 Jamaica stood at 9.96 years. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of up 14.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, average years of schooling among adults in Jamaica peaked at 9.96 years in 2022 and was at its lowest, 6.69 years, in 1990.
Jamaica ranks 96th 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 | 7.06 years | 6.69 years | 7.44 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.9 years | 7.52 years | 8.27 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.93 years | 8.36 years | 9.55 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.86 years | 9.68 years | 9.96 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
More education data for Jamaica
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 73.1% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 18.3% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 97.3% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 11,768 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.35 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 97.1% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is average years of schooling among adults in Jamaica?
- Average years of schooling among adults in Jamaica was 9.96 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 Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 9.96 years in 2022.
- What is the lowest average years of schooling among adults recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.69 years in 1990.
- How does Jamaica rank for average years of schooling among adults?
- Jamaica ranks 96th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is average years of schooling among adults rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Jamaica 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.
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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.