Finland vs Sweden: School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes

Finland
8.8 years
in 2018
Sweden
8.63 years
in 2018
Finland rank
2nd
Sweden rank
4th

School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes over time

  • Finland
  • Sweden
0246810197119942018

How they compare

Finland currently reports 8.8 years against 8.63 years in Sweden, a difference of 0.17 years.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 48 shared years of data; in 1971 it was Finland ahead.

Finland ranks 2nd and Sweden ranks 4th of 198 countries.

Across the 5 decades both report, Finland averaged higher in 3 and Sweden in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade Finland Sweden Difference Ahead
1970s 5.98 years 4.9 years 1.08 years Finland
1980s 6.23 years 5.26 years 0.9685 years Finland
1990s 7.04 years 7.25 years 0.2029 years Sweden
2000s 7.05 years 7.11 years 0.0607 years Sweden
2010s 7.88 years 7.33 years 0.5567 years Finland

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes, Finland or Sweden?
Finland, at 8.8 years against 8.63 years in Sweden as of 2018.
What is the difference in school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes between Finland and Sweden?
0.17 years, with Finland ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Finland and Sweden?
48 years are reported by both, from 1971 to 2018.
How do Finland and Sweden rank globally for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes?
Finland ranks 2nd and Sweden ranks 4th of 198 countries.
Where does this data come from?
UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Finland vs Sweden: School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 19 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/school-life-expectancy-secondary-both-sexes-years/finland/sweden/

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About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years)
Unit
years
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
198 places, 6,439 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.