Republic of Korea vs United States of America: School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes

Republic of Korea
5.87 years
in 2018
United States of America
5.95 years
in 2018
Republic of Korea rank
83rd
United States of America rank
80th

School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes over time

  • Republic of Korea
  • United States of America
0246197119942018

How they compare

United States of America currently reports 5.95 years against 5.87 years in Republic of Korea, a difference of 0.08 years.

The two have swapped places 4 times across 43 shared years of data; in 1971 it was United States of America ahead.

Republic of Korea ranks 83rd and United States of America ranks 80th of 198 countries.

Across the 5 decades both report, Republic of Korea averaged higher in 3 and United States of America in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade Republic of Korea United States of America Difference Ahead
1970s 3.32 years 5.07 years 1.75 years United States of America
1980s 5.15 years 5.6 years 0.4469 years United States of America
1990s 5.74 years 5.71 years 0.026 years Republic of Korea
2000s 5.76 years 5.7 years 0.0667 years Republic of Korea
2010s 5.92 years 5.82 years 0.095 years Republic of Korea

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes, Republic of Korea or United States of America?
United States of America, at 5.95 years against 5.87 years in Republic of Korea as of 2018.
What is the difference in school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes between Republic of Korea and United States of America?
0.08 years, with United States of America ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Republic of Korea and United States of America?
43 years are reported by both, from 1971 to 2018.
How do Republic of Korea and United States of America rank globally for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes?
Republic of Korea ranks 83rd and United States of America ranks 80th 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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Republic of Korea vs United States of America: School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 22 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/school-life-expectancy-secondary-both-sexes-years/korea-rep/united-states/

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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.