Average years of schooling among adults in Kenya
Kenya: Average years of schooling among adults was 8.62 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Average years of schooling among adults in Kenya, 1990–2023
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Kenya recorded 8.62 years for average years of schooling among adults 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, average years of schooling among adults in Kenya peaked at 8.62 years in 2022 and was at its lowest, 3.84 years, 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 4.58 years | 3.84 years | 5.28 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.91 years | 5.43 years | 6.31 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.91 years | 5.82 years | 7.99 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.27 years | 7.69 years | 8.62 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More education data for Kenya
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 60.7% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 36.3% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 98.2% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 281,500 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 3.17 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 96.6% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is average years of schooling among adults in Kenya?
- Average years of schooling among adults in Kenya was 8.62 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 Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 8.62 years in 2022.
- What is the lowest average years of schooling among adults recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.84 years in 1990.
- How does Kenya rank for average years of schooling among adults?
- Kenya ranks 121st out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is average years of schooling among adults 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 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average number of years (excluding years spent repeating individual grades) adults over 25 years participated in formal education.