School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in China

China: School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes was 2.67 years in 2019. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2019)
2.67 years
Change on year
up 1.2%
World rank
40th
of 191 countries
All-time high
2.67 years
in 2019
All-time low
0.0902 years
in 1974
Years of data
44
1974–2019

School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in China, 1974–2019

01231974199620191974: 0.09 years1975: 0.096 years1976: 0.227 years1977: 0.519 years1978: 0.344 years1979: 0.314 years1980: 0.364 years1981: 0.496 years1982: 0.48 years1983: 0.536 years1984: 0.58 years1985: 0.676 years1986: 0.779 years1987: 0.841 years1988: 0.897 years1989: 0.877 years1990: 0.837 years1991: 0.859 years1992: 0.907 years1993: 0.94 years1994: 0.945 years1995: 0.983 years1996: 1 years1997: 1.1 years1998: 1.2 years1999: 1.3 years2000: 1.3 years2001: 1.3 years2002: 1.2 years2003: 1.2 years2006: 1.3 years2007: 1.3 years2008: 1.4 years2009: 1.5 years2010: 1.6 years2011: 1.8 years2012: 2.1 years2013: 2.2 years2014: 2.3 years2015: 2.4 years2016: 2.5 years2017: 2.5 years2018: 2.6 years2019: 2.7 years

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.

Analysis

China recorded 2.67 years for school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in 2019. That is the highest value across all 44 years on record.

That represents a change of up 1.2% on the previous year and up 77.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in China peaked at 2.67 years in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.0902 years, in 1974.

China ranks 40th of 191 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in China, year by year

Annual values for School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes (years) in China, 1974 to 2019.
Year years Change
1974 0.0902 years
1975 0.0963 years +6.8%
1976 0.2269 years +135.6%
1977 0.5191 years +128.8%
1978 0.3438 years -33.8%
1979 0.3142 years -8.6%
1980 0.3642 years +15.9%
1981 0.4963 years +36.3%
1982 0.4798 years -3.3%
1983 0.536 years +11.7%
1984 0.5797 years +8.1%
1985 0.6756 years +16.6%
1986 0.7792 years +15.3%
1987 0.8409 years +7.9%
1988 0.8973 years +6.7%
1989 0.8768 years -2.3%
1990 0.8367 years -4.6%
1991 0.8592 years +2.7%
1992 0.9075 years +5.6%
1993 0.9397 years +3.6%
1994 0.9452 years +0.6%
1995 0.9835 years +4.1%
1996 1.04 years +5.6%
1997 1.1 years +5.8%
1998 1.22 years +11.4%
1999 1.35 years +10.0%
2000 1.35 years -0.1%
2001 1.34 years -0.3%
2002 1.2 years -10.4%
2003 1.18 years -2.1%
2006 1.28 years +8.6%
2007 1.34 years +5.2%
2008 1.41 years +5.1%
2009 1.5 years +6.5%
2010 1.61 years +7.0%
2011 1.8 years +11.7%
2012 2.05 years +14.1%
2013 2.18 years +6.5%
2014 2.28 years +4.5%
2015 2.36 years +3.4%
2016 2.47 years +4.7%
2017 2.54 years +3.0%
2018 2.64 years +3.9%
2019 2.67 years +1.2%

China compared with similar countries

  • China's 2.67 years is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.8 years, 1.5× the median. (54 countries reporting)
  • China's 2.67 years is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.86 years, 1.4× the median. (30 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in China changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
1976 +135.6% 0.0963 years 0.2269 years
1977 +128.8% 0.2269 years 0.5191 years
1978 -33.8% 0.5191 years 0.3438 years

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 0.2651 years 0.0902 years 0.5191 years 6
1980s 0.6526 years 0.3642 years 0.8973 years 10
1990s 1.02 years 0.8367 years 1.35 years 10
2000s 1.33 years 1.18 years 1.5 years 8
2010s 2.26 years 1.61 years 2.67 years 10

Countries ranked near China

  1. 37 Macao 2.72 years compare
  2. 38 Portugal 2.72 years compare
  3. 39 Solomon Islands 2.69 years compare
  4. 41 Netherlands 2.67 years compare
  5. 42 Romania 2.65 years compare
  6. 43 Maldives 2.58 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in China?
School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in China was 2.67 years in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes recorded in China?
The highest recorded value was 2.67 years in 2019.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0902 years in 1974.
How does China rank for school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes?
China ranks 40th out of 191 countries with data for 2019.
Is school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is up 77.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this China data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in China. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-pre-primary-both-sexes-years/china/

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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.