Samoa vs South Africa: School life expectancy, primary, both sexes

Samoa
6.95 years
in 2019
South Africa
6.93 years
in 2018
Samoa rank
45th
South Africa rank
47th

School life expectancy, primary, both sexes over time

  • Samoa
  • South Africa
02468197019942019

How they compare

Samoa currently reports 6.95 years against 6.93 years in South Africa, a difference of 0.02 years.

The two have swapped places 4 times across 30 shared years of data; in 1970 it was South Africa ahead.

Samoa ranks 45th and South Africa ranks 47th of 199 countries.

Across the 5 decades both report, Samoa averaged higher in 1 and South Africa in 4.

Head to head by decade

Decade Samoa South Africa Difference Ahead
1970s 5.65 years 6.59 years 0.9441 years South Africa
1980s 5.87 years 5.76 years 0.1144 years Samoa
1990s 5.94 years 7.72 years 1.77 years South Africa
2000s 6.35 years 7.36 years 1 years South Africa
2010s 6.58 years 7.19 years 0.6082 years South Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher school life expectancy, primary, both sexes, Samoa or South Africa?
Samoa, at 6.95 years against 6.93 years in South Africa as of 2019.
What is the difference in school life expectancy, primary, both sexes between Samoa and South Africa?
0.02 years, with Samoa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Samoa and South Africa?
30 years are reported by both, from 1970 to 2018.
How do Samoa and South Africa rank globally for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes?
Samoa ranks 45th and South Africa ranks 47th of 199 countries.
Where does this data come from?
UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Samoa vs South Africa: School life expectancy, primary, both sexes. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 18 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/school-life-expectancy-primary-both-sexes-years/samoa/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years)
Unit
years
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
244 places, 9,854 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.