IHME researchers produced this dataset as part of an analysis measuring and forecasting progress by countries towards education-related Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets. Annual estimates were created for the average years of schooling and single-year distribution of educational attainment by sex for adults ages 25-29 for 1970 to 2018. Projections were also generated for these indicators to 2030. Estimates were created for the 195 countries and territories examined in the Global Burden of Disease 2017 study. The estimates were produced using a compiled database of 3,180 nationally representative surveys and censuses describing the distribution of years of schooling by age and sex.