Years of schooling in Japan
Japan: Years of schooling was 12.68 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
12.68
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
28th
of 192 countries
All-time high
12.68
in 2021
All-time low
11.64
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023
Years of schooling in Japan, 1990–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Japan recorded 12.68 for years of schooling in 2023. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, years of schooling in Japan peaked at 12.68 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 11.64, in 1990.
Japan ranks 28th of 192 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Years of schooling in Japan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 11.64 | — |
| 1991 | 11.68 | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 11.73 | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 11.77 | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 11.82 | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 11.86 | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 11.91 | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 11.95 | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 12 | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 12.04 | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 12.09 | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 12.13 | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 12.17 | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 12.22 | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 12.26 | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 12.31 | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 12.35 | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 12.4 | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 12.44 | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 12.49 | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 12.53 | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 12.54 | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 12.56 | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 12.57 | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 12.59 | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 12.6 | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 12.61 | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 12.63 | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 12.64 | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 12.66 | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 12.67 | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 12.68 | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 12.68 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 12.68 | +0.0% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's 12.68 is above the median for high income countries, which is 12.39, 1.0× the median. (64 countries reporting)
- Japan's 12.68 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 9.43, 1.3× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 11.84 | 11.64 | 12.04 | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.29 | 12.09 | 12.49 | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.59 | 12.53 | 12.66 | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.68 | 12.67 | 12.68 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Japan
- 25 South Korea 12.72 compare
- 26 Georgia 12.7 compare
- 27 Belgium 12.69 compare
- 29 Netherlands 12.67 compare
- 30 Luxembourg 12.59 compare
- 31 Cyprus 12.56 compare
More education data for Japan
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 98.88 (2013)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.93 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 627,777 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (1999)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.50 million (1999)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.46 million (1999)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.61 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.25 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.01 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is years of schooling in Japan?
- Years of schooling in Japan was 12.68 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest years of schooling recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 12.68 in 2021.
- What is the lowest years of schooling recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.64 in 1990.
- How does Japan rank for years of schooling?
- Japan ranks 28th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is years of schooling rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Japan 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).