The bar chart illustrates the average class size in primary and secondary schools in six different countries, and compares these figures with the world average.
In general, the world average number of pupils in a lower secondary school class was higher than the figure for primary schools. In addition, Asian countries (South Korea and Japan) had a higher number of students on average in classrooms compared with other countries.
In 2006, South Korea, Japan, and the UK all had larger primary school classes when compared with the world average. South Korea had the largest primary school classes, at around 34 students per class. On the other hand, Mexico, Denmark, and Iceland all had smaller than world average primary school classes, at 20, 23, and 21 students per class respectively.
With regards to lower secondary school classes, South Korea, Japan, and Mexico, all had higher than world average class sizes, with South Korea again having the largest classes, at an average of 36 students per class. The UK, Denmark, and Iceland, all had smaller than world average classes, with 18, 21, and 20 students per class respectively.