Years of schooling in Kenya
Kenya: Years of schooling was 8.62 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
8.62
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
121st
of 192 countries
All-time high
8.62
in 2022
All-time low
3.84
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023
Years of schooling in Kenya, 1990–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Kenya recorded 8.62 for years of schooling in 2023. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
The figure is up 31.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, years of schooling in Kenya peaked at 8.62 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 3.84, in 1990.
Kenya ranks 121st 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.
Years of schooling in Kenya, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 3.84 | — |
| 1991 | 4.01 | +4.4% |
| 1992 | 4.18 | +4.2% |
| 1993 | 4.35 | +4.1% |
| 1994 | 4.51 | +3.9% |
| 1995 | 4.68 | +3.7% |
| 1996 | 4.83 | +3.2% |
| 1997 | 4.98 | +3.1% |
| 1998 | 5.13 | +3.0% |
| 1999 | 5.28 | +2.9% |
| 2000 | 5.43 | +2.8% |
| 2001 | 5.54 | +2.1% |
| 2002 | 5.66 | +2.1% |
| 2003 | 5.77 | +2.0% |
| 2004 | 5.89 | +2.0% |
| 2005 | 6 | +2.0% |
| 2006 | 6.08 | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 6.16 | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 6.23 | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 6.31 | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 5.82 | -7.8% |
| 2011 | 6.06 | +4.2% |
| 2012 | 6.3 | +4.0% |
| 2013 | 6.54 | +3.8% |
| 2014 | 6.79 | +3.7% |
| 2015 | 7.03 | +3.6% |
| 2016 | 7.27 | +3.4% |
| 2017 | 7.51 | +3.3% |
| 2018 | 7.75 | +3.2% |
| 2019 | 7.99 | +3.1% |
| 2020 | 7.69 | -3.9% |
| 2021 | 8.16 | +6.1% |
| 2022 | 8.62 | +5.8% |
| 2023 | 8.62 | +0.0% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 8.62 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 6.79, 1.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 8.62 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 5.96, 1.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 4.58 | 3.84 | 5.28 | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.91 | 5.43 | 6.31 | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.91 | 5.82 | 7.99 | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.27 | 7.69 | 8.62 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More education data for Kenya
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 99.57 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 94.27 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 168,396 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 235,728 (2016)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.44 million (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.44 million (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.74 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 8.04 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.7181 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is years of schooling in Kenya?
- Years of schooling in Kenya was 8.62 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest years of schooling recorded in Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 8.62 in 2022.
- What is the lowest years of schooling recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.84 in 1990.
- How does Kenya rank for years of schooling?
- Kenya ranks 121st out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is years of schooling rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 31.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya 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).