Years of Schooling in Peru: 1800 to Today (and Tomorrow)

When we talk about the years of schooling in Peru, we are measuring the quiet accumulation of formal knowledge across generations. Every data point represents hours spent sitting at desks, learning to read, and navigating classrooms. For the average adult in Peru, these years form the foundation of how they interact with the world, shape their livelihoods, and understand their communities. Data compiled by MYRIAD from the Barro-Lee and Our World in Data archives tracks this steady progression decade by decade, grounding the lived experiences of millions of people in concrete metrics.

The historical arc of education in Peru reveals a gradual and persistent upward climb across three centuries. In the 1800s estimate, the average stood at 0.3 years, slowly rising through the 1810s estimate (0.42), the 1820s estimate (0.55), the 1830s estimate (0.67), the 1840s estimate (0.79), the 1850s estimate (0.91), the 1860s estimate (1.03), the 1870s estimate (1.15), the 1880s estimate (1.27), and the 1890s estimate (1.39). By 1900 it was 1.52 years, matching the 1900s estimate of 1.52. This growth continued through the 1910s estimate (1.82), 1920s estimate (2.13), 1930s estimate (2.43), 1940s estimate (2.74), 1950s (3.04), 1960s (3.89), 1970s (4.74), 1980s (5.59), 1990s (6.62), 2000s (7.65), and 2010s (8.42).

For someone growing up in Peru, the educational landscape depends entirely on the era of your birth. In the 2020s, years of schooling in Peru stands at 9.2 years — ranking #73 of 157 countries. Looking forward, projections anticipate further growth through the 2030s projection (9.5), 2040s projection (9.8), 2050s projection (10.1), 2060s projection (10.4), 2070s projection (10.7), 2080s projection (11), 2090s projection (11.3), and the 2100s projection (11.6). Where do YOU rank among everyone ever born? →