United Kingdom vs United States: School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes

United Kingdom
2.14 years
in 2018
United States
2.16 years
in 2018
United Kingdom rank
65th
United States rank
64th

School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes over time

  • United Kingdom
  • United States
0.511.52197119942018

How they compare

United States currently reports 2.16 years against 2.14 years in United Kingdom, a difference of 0.02 years.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 20 shared years of data; in 1976 it was United States ahead.

United Kingdom ranks 65th and United States ranks 64th of 191 countries.

United States has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade United Kingdom United States Difference Ahead
1970s 0.6847 years 1.55 years 0.8682 years United States
1980s 0.9624 years 1.77 years 0.8118 years United States
1990s 1.02 years 1.89 years 0.8663 years United States
2000s 1.42 years 2.13 years 0.7092 years United States
2010s 1.87 years 2.14 years 0.275 years United States

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes, United Kingdom or United States?
United States, at 2.16 years against 2.14 years in United Kingdom as of 2018.
What is the difference in school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes between United Kingdom and United States?
0.02 years, with United States ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for United Kingdom and United States?
20 years are reported by both, from 1976 to 2018.
How do United Kingdom and United States rank globally for school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes?
United Kingdom ranks 65th and United States ranks 64th of 191 countries.
Where does this data come from?
UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes (years). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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United Kingdom vs United States: School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 28 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/school-life-expectancy-pre-primary-both-sexes-years/united-kingdom/united-states/

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<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/school-life-expectancy-pre-primary-both-sexes-years/united-kingdom/united-states/">United Kingdom vs United States: School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes (years)
Unit
years
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
236 places, 7,887 data points, 1970–2020
Last refreshed

Number of years a person of school entrance age can expect to spend within the specified level of education. For a child of a certain age a, the school life expectancy is calculated as the sum of the age specific enrolment rates for the levels of education specified. The part of the enrolment that is not distributed by age is divided by the school-age population for the level of education they are enrolled in, and multiplied by the duration of that level of education. The result is then added to the sum of the age-specific enrolment rates. A relatively high SLE indicates greater probability for children to spend more years in education and higher overall retention within the education system. It must be noted that the expected number of years does not necessarily coincide with the expected number of grades of education completed, because of repetition. Since school life expectancy is an average based on participation in different levels of education, the expected number of years of schooling may be pulled down by the magnitude of children who never go to school. Those children who are in school may benefit from many more years of education than the average.