Who Is More Educated? Men vs Women

The map above shows if women or men spend more years in school by country.

There are 68 countries in pink where women spend more time in school than men including the US, Canada, UK and Australia but also some surprises like Oman, Iran and Egypt.

In 124 countries in blue where men still go to school for longer than women.

Below is the full list:

Country	Average years of schooling among men	Average years of schooling among women	Difference (Men - Women)	Gender With More Years In School
Yemen	7.45	3.62	3.84	Men
Liberia	7.85	4.66	3.19	Men
Togo	7.38	4.50	2.88	Men
Democratic Republic of Congo	8.96	6.08	2.88	Men
Central African Republic	5.44	2.70	2.74	Men
Afghanistan	3.91	1.17	2.74	Men
Angola	7.26	4.54	2.73	Men
Uganda	7.86	5.23	2.63	Men
Guinea-Bissau	5.06	2.47	2.59	Men
Benin	4.59	2.05	2.54	Men
Iraq	8.04	5.55	2.49	Men
Djibouti	5.09	2.72	2.36	Men
Sierra Leone	4.82	2.46	2.36	Men
Nepal	5.80	3.47	2.33	Men
Chad	3.55	1.33	2.21	Men
Ghana	8.33	6.14	2.19	Men
Nigeria	8.70	6.56	2.14	Men
India	7.96	5.83	2.13	Men
Congo	9.45	7.32	2.13	Men
Malawi	6.40	4.29	2.10	Men
Guinea	3.60	1.51	2.10	Men
Somalia	2.92	0.89	2.03	Men
Mozambique	5.67	3.75	1.92	Men
Cameroon	7.58	5.68	1.90	Men
Gambia	5.75	3.86	1.89	Men
Zambia	8.42	6.56	1.86	Men
Laos	6.98	5.14	1.84	Men
Cambodia	6.20	4.37	1.83	Men
Morocco	7.10	5.31	1.79	Men
Comoros	6.93	5.16	1.77	Men
Eritrea	5.71	3.98	1.74	Men
Mauritania	5.85	4.25	1.61	Men
Syria	6.71	5.11	1.60	Men
Cote d'Ivoire	5.63	4.04	1.59	Men
Burkina Faso	3.10	1.60	1.50	Men
Burundi	4.30	2.81	1.50	Men
Ethiopia	3.17	1.71	1.46	Men
Turkey	9.72	8.28	1.44	Men
South Sudan	6.19	4.76	1.43	Men
Sao Tome and Principe	6.77	5.35	1.41	Men
Zimbabwe	9.72	8.32	1.41	Men
Papua New Guinea	5.66	4.27	1.40	Men
Bolivia	10.74	9.36	1.38	Men
Haiti	6.14	4.77	1.37	Men
Senegal	3.82	2.46	1.36	Men
Kenya	9.35	8.00	1.35	Men
Bosnia and Herzegovina	11.66	10.32	1.34	Men
Solomon Islands	6.84	5.51	1.33	Men
South Korea	13.33	12.11	1.23	Men
Tanzania	6.74	5.51	1.23	Men
Tunisia	8.23	7.01	1.22	Men
Jordan	10.87	9.67	1.20	Men
Peru	10.73	9.57	1.17	Men
North Macedonia	10.81	9.65	1.16	Men
Guatemala	6.47	5.35	1.12	Men
Bhutan	6.33	5.21	1.12	Men
Bangladesh	7.35	6.24	1.11	Men
Honduras	8.09	6.99	1.11	Men
Montenegro	13.34	12.24	1.11	Men
Mali	2.16	1.14	1.02	Men
East Timor	6.79	5.77	1.02	Men
Algeria	7.89	6.90	0.99	Men
Vietnam	9.47	8.52	0.95	Men
Saudi Arabia	11.97	11.04	0.93	Men
Nauru	10.23	9.31	0.92	Men
Vanuatu	7.50	6.59	0.91	Men
Micronesia (country)	7.78	6.89	0.89	Men
Rwanda	5.32	4.49	0.83	Men
Hong Kong	12.79	12.00	0.79	Men
Niger	1.84	1.05	0.79	Men
Tajikistan	11.62	10.89	0.73	Men
Switzerland	14.29	13.61	0.68	Men
Greece	11.91	11.23	0.68	Men
Japan	13.03	12.36	0.67	Men
Turkmenistan	11.55	10.89	0.66	Men
Singapore	12.33	11.67	0.66	Men
Sudan	4.29	3.63	0.66	Men
Indonesia	9.02	8.37	0.65	Men
Madagascar	4.94	4.29	0.64	Men
Myanmar	6.73	6.09	0.64	Men
Albania	10.50	9.86	0.64	Men
El Salvador	7.64	7.03	0.61	Men
Pakistan	4.57	3.97	0.60	Men
Serbia	11.95	11.37	0.59	Men
Cape Verde	6.33	5.81	0.52	Men
Romania	11.82	11.30	0.52	Men
Germany	14.55	14.05	0.50	Men
Austria	12.60	12.12	0.48	Men
Eswatini	8.94	8.47	0.48	Men
China	8.27	7.82	0.45	Men
Liechtenstein	12.61	12.16	0.45	Men
Croatia	12.33	11.89	0.43	Men
Netherlands	12.89	12.46	0.43	Men
Seychelles	11.39	11.02	0.38	Men
Marshall Islands	11.83	11.45	0.37	Men
Malta	12.59	12.23	0.36	Men
Thailand	9.23	8.87	0.36	Men
Uzbekistan	12.08	11.75	0.33	Men
Tuvalu	10.92	10.60	0.32	Men
Hungary	12.49	12.19	0.29	Men
France	11.92	11.63	0.29	Men
United Arab Emirates	13.11	12.83	0.28	Men
Grenada	9.55	9.29	0.26	Men
Czechia	13.10	12.84	0.26	Men
Italy	10.97	10.71	0.25	Men
Malaysia	11.21	10.98	0.23	Men
Mexico	9.47	9.24	0.23	Men
Dominica	10.23	10.01	0.22	Men
South Africa	11.72	11.50	0.22	Men
Kyrgyzstan	12.17	11.97	0.19	Men
Andorra	11.70	11.52	0.18	Men
Azerbaijan	11.16	10.98	0.18	Men
Chile	11.39	11.21	0.18	Men
Spain	10.82	10.69	0.13	Men
Mauritius	10.13	10.00	0.13	Men
Sri Lanka	10.84	10.71	0.13	Men
Ecuador	9.03	8.92	0.11	Men
Botswana	10.52	10.43	0.10	Men
Nicaragua	9.96	9.90	0.06	Men
San Marino	11.38	11.34	0.04	Men
Brunei	9.29	9.27	0.02	Men
Belize	8.77	8.75	0.01	Men
Cyprus	12.56	12.55	0.01	Men
Paraguay	8.94	8.93	0.01	Men
Slovakia	13.10	13.11	-0.01	Women
New Zealand	12.88	12.90	-0.02	Women
Armenia	11.33	11.36	-0.02	Women
Belgium	12.67	12.69	-0.03	Women
Iran	10.84	10.88	-0.04	Women
Kazakhstan	12.53	12.57	-0.04	Women
Portugal	9.66	9.73	-0.07	Women
Palau	13.26	13.33	-0.07	Women
Maldives	7.36	7.45	-0.08	Women
Belarus	12.29	12.38	-0.09	Women
Israel	13.48	13.59	-0.10	Women
United Kingdom	13.43	13.55	-0.12	Women
Fiji	10.31	10.43	-0.13	Women
Georgia	12.63	12.76	-0.13	Women
Guyana	8.62	8.76	-0.14	Women
Bahamas	12.76	12.90	-0.15	Women
Canada	13.79	13.94	-0.15	Women
Tonga	10.83	10.99	-0.15	Women
Moldova	11.74	11.90	-0.16	Women
Russia	12.32	12.48	-0.16	Women
Slovenia	12.87	13.03	-0.16	Women
Iceland	13.83	13.99	-0.16	Women
Australia	12.78	12.95	-0.17	Women
United States	13.82	14.00	-0.18	Women
Palestine	10.03	10.22	-0.19	Women
Costa Rica	8.74	8.93	-0.19	Women
Cuba	10.53	10.73	-0.20	Women
Bulgaria	11.35	11.56	-0.21	Women
Lithuania	13.49	13.71	-0.21	Women
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	11.19	11.41	-0.22	Women
Venezuela	9.67	9.95	-0.28	Women
Trinidad and Tobago	10.64	10.94	-0.31	Women
Kiribati	8.97	9.29	-0.33	Women
Norway	12.96	13.29	-0.34	Women
Colombia	8.86	9.20	-0.34	Women
Sweden	12.55	12.93	-0.38	Women
Philippines	9.78	10.17	-0.39	Women
Luxembourg	12.39	12.79	-0.40	Women
Finland	12.78	13.18	-0.41	Women
Poland	13.00	13.41	-0.41	Women
Estonia	13.33	13.74	-0.41	Women
Denmark	12.82	13.24	-0.42	Women
Suriname	8.21	8.63	-0.43	Women
Ireland	11.51	11.95	-0.44	Women
Brazil	8.18	8.63	-0.45	Women
Saint Lucia	8.36	8.86	-0.50	Women
Uruguay	10.25	10.79	-0.54	Women
Saint Kitts and Nevis	10.58	11.12	-0.55	Women
Namibia	7.00	7.54	-0.55	Women
Panama	10.54	11.09	-0.55	Women
Argentina	10.89	11.45	-0.56	Women
Oman	11.69	12.27	-0.58	Women
Jamaica	9.63	10.22	-0.59	Women
Latvia	13.06	13.73	-0.68	Women
Ukraine	10.74	11.42	-0.68	Women
Samoa	10.89	11.76	-0.87	Women
Dominican Republic	8.99	9.89	-0.90	Women
Egypt	9.73	10.67	-0.95	Women
Antigua and Barbuda	11.08	12.18	-1.10	Women
Mongolia	8.85	9.95	-1.10	Women
Libya	7.19	8.44	-1.25	Women
Kuwait	7.14	8.43	-1.29	Women
Barbados	9.11	10.41	-1.30	Women
Lesotho	6.98	8.38	-1.40	Women
Bahrain	10.63	12.10	-1.47	Women
Gabon	8.86	10.53	-1.67	Women
Qatar	10.24	12.73	-2.49	Women
Lebanon	9.13	13.05	-3.92	Women

The data comes from Our World In Data and goes up to 2023, originally published in the UNDP, Human Development Report (2025).

here’s how that meme works, broken down with the history context:

Why men still receive more education on average in many countries?

Historical and cultural norms
- In many societies, men have traditionally been prioritized for formal schooling, while women were expected to focus on household or caregiving roles.
- Early marriage and childbearing often interrupt girls’ education.
Economic barriers
- In poorer households, when resources are limited, families may invest in boys’ education over girls’.
- Opportunity costs are higher for girls in some regions, where their labour is valued in domestic or agricultural work.
Safety and infrastructure issues
- Lack of safe schools, inadequate sanitation facilities (especially for menstruating girls), and long travel distances can discourage girls from attending.
Policy and institutional bias
- Until relatively recently, many education systems did not actively encourage or accommodate female participation.

How this is changing over time

Rapid gains for women
- Over the past 50 years, female education has expanded dramatically.
- In many regions (Northern & Eastern Europe, North America, much of Latin America), women now attain more years of schooling than men on average, especially at the tertiary (university) level.
Closing primary and secondary gaps
- Global initiatives (like UNESCO’s Education for All and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals) have targeted universal primary and secondary education, which has significantly narrowed the gender gap.
- Enrolment rates for girls in primary school are now nearly equal to boys worldwide.
Persistent disparities
- The biggest gaps remain in Sub-Saharan Africa, parts of South Asia, and the Middle East, where poverty, conflict, and cultural norms still constrain girls’ schooling.
- Rural–urban divides are especially sharp.
Changing dynamics
- In higher-income countries, women increasingly outpace men in university attendance and completion, though gaps remain in certain fields (STEM, engineering, etc.).
- Globally, the average years of schooling for women has been rising faster than for men; projections suggest that by mid-21st century, women may slightly surpass men in average education levels worldwide.