Average Typing Speed by Age, Job, and Country
The average person types around 40 words per minute, but the "normal" speed changes a lot with age, job, and experience. Here are the real numbers — and how to see where you stand.
The global average typing speed
Across the general population, the average typing speed is roughly 40 words per minute (WPM) at about 92% accuracy. Casual computer users tend to sit in the 35–45 WPM range, while people who type for a living usually land well above it. Anything above 60 WPM already puts you ahead of most typists.
WPM is standardized so it means the same thing everywhere: one "word" is counted as five characters including spaces, so your speed can be compared fairly regardless of the language you type in.
Average typing speed by age
Typing speed peaks in early adulthood. Typists aged 18–39 are usually the fastest group, averaging around 40–60 WPM, because they grew up with keyboards and touchscreens. Speed then declines gently: adults over 40 average about 35–50 WPM, and people over 60 average roughly 25–40 WPM, with a lot depending on how much they use a computer day to day.
These are averages, not limits. Plenty of typists in their 50s and 60s type faster than the youngest group simply because they practice and use proper technique.
Average typing speed by profession
Jobs that revolve around a keyboard demand higher speeds. Typical benchmarks look like this: general office roles aim for 50–60 WPM; administrative and executive assistants often type 55–75 WPM; software engineers usually plateau around 60–70 WPM; and specialist roles such as transcriptionists and court reporters maintain 75–95 WPM with near-perfect accuracy over long sessions.
For most data-entry and clerical jobs worldwide, 50–60 WPM with high accuracy is a comfortable, competitive baseline.
Does country matter?
Raw typing speed depends far more on practice, keyboard layout, and language than on nationality. Latin-script languages like English, Spanish, and French are measured the same way; scripts such as Cyrillic (Russian) or Devanagari-based romanization can produce different character counts, which is why comparing characters per minute (CPM) alongside WPM is useful when comparing across languages.
How do you compare?
The only way to know your real number is to measure it. Take a quick timed test, note your WPM and accuracy, and compare it against the benchmarks above. If you are below the average for your goal, consistent daily practice can close the gap in a few weeks.