DATA MAPPING

Data Mapping

 

The International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) mappings found on this website are the outputs of a collaborative process between the UIS and UNESCO Member States.They aim to map national education systems according to ISCED and are an essential tool for organizing information on national education systems, their programmes and related qualifications. The mappings facilitate the cross-national comparability of education statistics and indicators and enable analysts to understand and interpret them.

ISCED mappings ensure a transparent process of coding national education programmes and related qualifications into comparable categories for use in international statistics by linking the classification criteria to the properties of the education programmes and their related qualifications.

The mappings provide clear direction on how to report national education data for international purposes. For example, in some education systems basic education lasts for eight years as opposed to a clear delineation between primary and lower secondary levels in terms of duration and content. ISCED provides the framework to help statisticians classify diverse systems in such a way that they can be compared across countries.

How are the mappings produced?

In 2007, the UIS launched a special survey to gather detailed information on national education systems worldwide. The survey includes a range of questions for each education programme on issues such as entry requirements, entry age, duration and diplomas obtained, as well as their corresponding ISCED level for pre-primary to tertiary education. In addition, countries are consulted individually, when necessary, to resolve potential classification problems which might compromise the comparability of their education data.

Based on this information, the UIS produces individual ISCED mappings for each country in consultation with national statisticians. In particular, the UIS works closely with sub-Saharan African countries to improve their ISCED mappings as part of efforts to improve data quality in the region.

Who uses the mappings?

First and foremost, the mappings help Member States to report their data in an internationally comparable framework. Further, the UIS publishes the mappings to allow for a. international comparability of the submitted education statistics and b. more specific information on a country’s education system.

Finally, the mappings also facilitate the work of other international and regional statistical organizations as they undertake comparative data collections, including household surveys and population censuses.

Below are the validated mappings based on ISCED 1997 and ISCED 2011, in spreadsheet format. For the UIS graphical representations of these data please visit the visualizations section of this website.

ISCED 2011 mappings of missing countries are currently being finalized. They will be posted on this page as they are validated by the UIS and relevant national authorities.

 

ISCED Revisions 1997, 2011          
Country ISCED Revision   Country ISCED Revision  
Central and Southern Asia     Eastern and South-Eastern Asia    
Afghanistan   2011 Brunei Darussalam 1997 2011
Bangladesh 1997 2011 Cambodia 1997 2011
Bhutan 1997 2011 China 1997 2011
India 1997 2011 China, SAR Hong Kong   2011
Iran   2011 China, SAR Macao 1997 2011
Kazakhstan 1997 2011 Indonesia 1997 2011
Kyrgyzstan 1997 2011  Japan 1997 2011
Maldives 1997 2011 Lao PDR 1997 2011
Nepal 1997 2011 Malaysia 1997 2011
Pakistan 1997 2011 Mongolia 1997 2011
Sri Lanka 1997 2011 Rep. of Korea 1997 2011
Tajikistan 1997 2011 Philippines 1997 2011
Turkmenistan 1997 2011 Singapore 1997 2011
Uzbekistan 1997 2011 Thailand 1997 2011
      Timor-Leste 1997 2011
      Viet Nam   2011
           
Latin America and the Caribbean     Northern Africa and Western Asia    
Anguilla 1997 2011 Algeria 1997 2011
Antigua and Barbuda 1997 2011 Armenia 1997 2011
Argentina 1997 2011 Azerbaijan 1997 2011
Aruba   2011 Bahrain 1997 2011
Bahamas   2011 Cyprus 1997 2011
Barbados 1997 2011  Egypt 1997 2011
Belize 1997 2011 Georgia 1997 2011
Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 1997 2011 Iraq 1997 2011
Brazil 1997 2011  Israel 1997 2011      
British Virgin Islands 1997 2011 Jordan 1997 2011
Cayman Islands 1997 2011 Kuwait 1997 2011
Chile 1997 2011 Lebanon 1997 2011
Colombia 1997 2011 Libya 1997 2011
Costa Rica   2011 Morocco 1997 2011
Cuba  1997 2011 Oman 1997 2011
Curaçao   2011 Palestine 1997 2011
Dominica 1997   Qatar 1997 2011
Dominican Rep. 1997 2011 Saudi Arabia 1997 2011
Ecuador   2011 Sudan 1997 2011
El Salvador   2011 Syrian Arab Republic 1997 2011
Grenada 1997 2011 Tunisia 1997 2011
Guatemala 1997 2011 Türkiye   2011
Guyana 1997 2011 United Arab Emirates 1997 2011
Haiti 1997   Yemen 1997 2011
Honduras 1997 2011      
Jamaica 1997 2011      
Mexico 1997 2011      
Montserrat 1997 2011      
Panama 1997 2011      
Paraguay 1997        
Peru 1997 2011      
Saint Lucia 1997 2011
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1997 2011
Suriname 1997 2011
Turks and Caicos   2011
Uruguay 1997 2011
Venezuela 1997 2011
Northern America and Europe     Oceania    
Albania   2011 Australia 1997 2011
Andorra   2011 Cook Islands 1997 2011
Austria 1997 2011 Fiji 1997 2011
Belarus 1997 2011 Kiribati   2011
Belgium (Flemish)   2011 Marshall Islands   2011
Belgium (Francophone)   2011 Micronesia   2011
Bermuda   2011 New Zealand 1997 2011
Bulgaria 1997 2011 Niue   2011
Bosnia and Herzegovina   2011 Nauru     2011
Canada 1997 2011 Palau   2011
Croatia   2011 Papua New Guinea   2011
Czechia 1997 2011 Samoa   2011
Denmark 1997 2011 Solomon Islands   2011
Estonia 1997 2011 Tokelau   2011
Finland 1997 2011 Tonga   2011
France 1997 2011 Tuvalu   2011
Germany 1997 2011 Vanuatu   2011
Gibraltar   2011 Sub-Saharan Africa    
Greece 1997 2011 Angola 1997 2011
Hungary 1997 2011 Benin 1997 2011
Iceland 1997 2011 Botswana 1997 2011
Italy 1997 2011 Burkina Faso 1997 2011
Ireland   2011      
Latvia 1997 2011 Burundi 1997 2011
Liechtenstein   2011 Cabo Verde 1997 2011
Lithuania 1997 2011 Cameroon 1997 2011
Luxembourg   2011 Central African Republic 1997 2011
Malta   2011 Chad 1997 2011
Monaco   2011 Comoros 1997 2011
Montenegro   2011 Congo 1997 2011  
Netherlands 1997 2011 Côte d’Ivoire 1997 2011
Rep. of North Macedonia    2011 Democratic Rep. of the Congo 1997 2011
Norway 1997 2011 Djibouti 1997 2011
Poland 1997 2011 Equatorial Guinea 1997 2011
Portugal   2011 Eritrea 1997 2011
Rep. of Moldova 1997 2011 Eswatini 1997 2011
Romania 1997 2011 Ethiopia 1997 2011
Russian Federation 1997 2011 Gabon 1997 2011
San Marino   2011 Gambia 1997 2011
Slovakia 1997 2011 Ghana 1997 2011
Serbia   2011
Slovenia 1997 2011 Guinea 1997 2011
Spain 1997 2011 Guinea-Bissau 1997 2011
Sweden 1997 2011 Kenya 1997 2011
Switzerland 1997 2011 Lesotho 1997 2011
Ukraine 1997 2011 Liberia 1997 2011
United Kingdom 1997 2011 Madagascar 1997 2011
United States of America 1997 2011 Malawi 1997 2011
      Mali 1997 2011
      Mauritania 1997 2011
      Mauritius 1997 2011
      Mozambique 1997 2011
      Namibia 1997 2011
      Niger 1997 2011
      Nigeria 1997 2011
      Rwanda 1997 2011
      Sao Tome and Principe 1997 2011
      Senegal 1997 2011
      Somalia   2011
      Seychelles   2011
      Sierra Leone 1997 2011
      South Africa 1997 2011
      South Sudan 1997 2011
      Togo 1997 2011
      Uganda 1997 2011
      Tanzania 1997 2011
      Zambia 1997 2011
      Zimbabwe 1997 2011