Statizoid

School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes (years) by country

Number of years a person of school entrance age can expect to spend within the specified levels 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...

Countries reporting
187
Highest
12.52 years
Tonga
Lowest
5.22 years
Equatorial Guinea
Median
9.08 years
Years covered
40
1981–2020
Data points
4,584

What the numbers show

School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes (years) is currently reported for 187 countries. The highest value is 12.52 years in Tonga; the lowest is 5.22 years in Equatorial Guinea.

The median across all reporting countries is 9.08 years, and the mean is 9.07 years.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 2.

Over the past decade 113 countries rose and 73 fell. The largest increase was in Angola (up 136.4%), and the largest decrease in Syria (down 27.3%).

School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Tonga 12.52 years 2015 up 14.8% rising
2 Namibia 12.02 years 2017 up 12.5% rising
3 Ireland 11.74 years 2018 up 4.2% rising
4 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 11.44 years 2018 up 1.1% flat
5 Fiji 11.38 years 2019 up 10.7% rising
6 Australia 11.38 years 2018 — rising
7 Grenada 11.23 years 2018 up 0.5% flat
8 Eswatini 11.21 years 2016 up 7.7% rising
9 Bhutan 11.17 years 2020 up 6.7% rising
10 Sweden 11.1 years 2018 up 24.9% rising
11 Algeria 11.07 years 2011 up 22.5% rising
12 Nauru 11.04 years 2019 up 41.5% rising
13 Sierra Leone 10.99 years 2019 up 28.5% rising
14 Costa Rica 10.99 years 2019 up 6.5% rising
15 Saint Kitts and Nevis 10.95 years 2016 up 2.8% flat
16 Antigua and Barbuda 10.8 years 2018 down 10.5% falling
17 Togo 10.8 years 2017 up 19.3% rising
18 Benin 10.76 years 2016 up 36.0% rising
19 Malawi 10.75 years 2019 up 8.8% rising
20 Lesotho 10.65 years 2017 up 2.7% rising
21 Denmark 10.63 years 2018 up 12.4% rising
22 Belize 10.57 years 2019 up 3.2% flat
23 Argentina 10.54 years 2017 down 0.4% flat
24 Lithuania 10.48 years 2018 up 1.7% rising
25 Oman 10.46 years 2019 up 11.2% rising
26 Trinidad and Tobago 10.35 years 2009 up 7.5% rising
27 Dominica 10.34 years 2019 up 2.2% falling
28 Botswana 10.3 years 2015 down 3.5% flat
29 Netherlands 10.26 years 2018 down 0.3% falling
30 Suriname 10.25 years 2019 up 0.9% rising
31 Tunisia 10.19 years 2018 up 3.9% rising
32 New Zealand 10.18 years 2018 up 0.3% flat
33 Mexico 10.18 years 2018 up 2.3% rising
34 Maldives 10.17 years 2019 down 7.7% falling
35 Peru 10.16 years 2019 up 5.6% flat
36 Norway 10.15 years 2018 up 3.1% rising
37 Uruguay 10.06 years 2018 down 0.1% rising
38 Iceland 10.04 years 2018 up 2.0% flat
39 Cameroon 10.01 years 2016 up 36.7% rising
40 Nepal 9.99 years 2019 up 11.2% rising
41 Germany 9.97 years 2018 down 2.3% flat
42 Morocco 9.96 years 2019 up 14.3% rising
43 Sao Tome and Principe 9.93 years 2017 up 4.5% rising
44 Colombia 9.91 years 2018 down 3.4% rising
45 Saint Lucia 9.9 years 2019 down 0.8% flat
46 Philippines 9.86 years 2018 up 9.1% rising
47 Hong Kong 9.85 years 2019 up 5.7% rising
48 Rwanda 9.83 years 2019 down 3.4% rising
49 Portugal 9.83 years 2018 down 6.2% falling
50 Vanuatu 9.82 years 2015 up 5.8% rising
51 Vietnam 9.8 years 2019 up 14.9% rising
52 Nicaragua 9.79 years 2010 up 21.3% rising
53 Spain 9.78 years 2018 down 9.2% rising
54 Luxembourg 9.66 years 2018 up 3.5% rising
55 Libya 9.64 years 2006 up 0.1% flat
56 East Timor 9.63 years 2019 down 1.9% rising
57 Malta 9.6 years 2018 down 12.3% falling
58 United Kingdom 9.59 years 2018 up 2.2% rising
59 Thailand 9.56 years 2019 up 8.5% rising
60 United Arab Emirates 9.55 years 2017 up 11.4% rising
61 Dominican Republic 9.52 years 2019 up 11.1% rising
62 British Virgin Islands 9.51 years 2018 down 18.6% flat
63 Israel 9.51 years 2018 up 4.0% flat
64 Belgium 9.5 years 2018 up 9.1% flat
65 Kazakhstan 9.49 years 2019 up 0.7% rising
66 Switzerland 9.46 years 2018 down 0.5% flat
67 Egypt 9.44 years 2019 up 8.1% rising
68 Turks and Caicos Islands 9.42 years 2018 up 5.0% flat
69 Cape Verde 9.42 years 2018 down 5.1% flat
70 Iran 9.4 years 2017 up 19.0% rising
71 Canada 9.4 years 2018 up 19.1% flat
72 Mauritius 9.37 years 2019 up 2.2% rising
73 Zimbabwe 9.36 years 2013 up 10.3% rising
74 Ecuador 9.36 years 2018 up 5.5% rising
75 Gibraltar 9.36 years 2019 up 10.8% rising
76 Macao 9.34 years 2019 up 10.8% flat
77 Indonesia 9.3 years 2018 up 4.0% rising
78 Saudi Arabia 9.3 years 2019 down 0.3% rising
79 Liechtenstein 9.27 years 2018 down 2.3% flat
80 Russia 9.26 years 2018 up 14.9% rising
81 Georgia 9.23 years 2019 up 1.7% flat
82 France 9.2 years 2018 down 1.8% flat
83 Seychelles 9.19 years 2019 down 5.3% falling
84 Kyrgyzstan 9.19 years 2019 up 6.2% rising
85 Brazil 9.19 years 2011 down 15.5% falling
86 Solomon Islands 9.16 years 2018 up 10.8% rising
87 Azerbaijan 9.15 years 2019 up 10.0% rising
88 Kuwait 9.15 years 2012 up 14.7% rising
89 Mongolia 9.15 years 2018 down 0.3% rising
90 United States 9.13 years 2018 down 1.1% flat
91 Finland 9.11 years 2018 up 2.2% flat
92 Samoa 9.1 years 2019 up 5.9% rising
93 Slovenia 9.1 years 2018 up 2.6% rising
94 Qatar 9.08 years 2019 down 6.1% flat
95 Congo 9.08 years 2012 up 10.3% rising
96 Latvia 9.08 years 2018 down 3.4% flat
97 Albania 9.07 years 2019 up 8.4% rising
98 Ghana 9.06 years 2019 up 5.3% rising
99 Czechia 9.06 years 2018 down 0.2% rising
100 Guyana 9.05 years 2012 down 6.8% flat
101 Sri Lanka 9.02 years 2018 up 2.9% falling
102 Cyprus 9.02 years 2018 down 2.2% flat
103 Barbados 9.02 years 2019 up 0.3% flat
104 Estonia 9.02 years 2018 down 2.2% flat
105 Palau 9.01 years 2014 up 6.3% rising
106 Uzbekistan 9 years 2019 up 6.0% flat
107 Greece 8.99 years 2018 up 2.1% rising
108 Poland 8.98 years 2018 up 5.0% rising
109 Cuba 8.97 years 2019 up 1.1% flat
110 Malaysia 8.96 years 2017 up 4.0% flat
111 Belarus 8.96 years 2018 down 10.6% flat
112 Mozambique 8.96 years 2017 up 1.6% rising
113 South Africa 8.96 years 2018 down 4.2% flat
114 Tajikistan 8.95 years 2017 up 3.2% rising
115 China 8.92 years 2010 up 9.9% rising
116 Comoros 8.92 years 2018 up 3.7% rising
117 South Korea 8.87 years 2018 down 2.5% flat
118 Kiribati 8.86 years 2017 down 7.1% rising
119 Cote d'Ivoire 8.86 years 2019 up 27.7% rising
120 Ukraine 8.86 years 2014 up 0.5% flat
121 Bahrain 8.83 years 2019 up 3.2% falling
122 Burundi 8.83 years 2019 down 2.5% rising
123 Paraguay 8.79 years 2012 down 6.7% falling
124 Palestine 8.78 years 2019 down 2.7% rising
125 Slovakia 8.78 years 2018 up 0.5% rising
126 Tanzania 8.72 years 2019 down 4.0% rising
127 Montenegro 8.68 years 2019 down 3.4% flat
128 Venezuela 8.64 years 2017 down 4.4% rising
129 Madagascar 8.64 years 2019 down 9.1% rising
130 Iraq 8.63 years 2007 up 18.4% rising
131 Bermuda 8.63 years 2015 up 1.6% flat
132 Aruba 8.62 years 2012 down 5.6% flat
133 Cambodia 8.61 years 2019 down 6.2% rising
134 Myanmar 8.6 years 2018 up 20.4% rising
135 Bangladesh 8.56 years 2018 up 25.6% rising
136 Angola 8.53 years 2011 up 136.4% rising
137 Panama 8.52 years 2017 down 5.5% flat
138 North Macedonia 8.45 years 2018 up 5.7% rising
139 San Marino 8.36 years 2019 down 4.8% rising
140 Afghanistan 8.34 years 2018 up 9.1% rising
141 Zambia 8.31 years 2017 down 12.7% rising
142 Gambia 8.29 years 2019 up 26.0% rising
143 El Salvador 8.27 years 2018 down 13.3% flat
144 Armenia 8.2 years 2019 down 2.8% rising
145 Brunei 8.19 years 2019 down 17.1% falling
146 Austria 8.18 years 2018 up 1.4% flat
147 Croatia 8.18 years 2018 up 0.7% rising
148 Chile 8.16 years 2018 down 3.5% flat
149 Mauritania 8.16 years 2019 up 16.0% rising
150 Italy 8.14 years 2018 down 2.3% flat
151 Guatemala 8.11 years 2019 down 9.1% rising
152 Burkina Faso 8.1 years 2019 up 40.3% rising
153 Laos 8.06 years 2019 up 4.4% rising
154 Kenya 8.04 years 2016 up 2.7% rising
155 Tuvalu 8 years 2019 down 15.0% falling
156 Serbia 7.98 years 2019 up 1.3% flat
157 Turkey 7.96 years 2018 down 1.8% rising
158 Hungary 7.92 years 2018 up 0.5% flat
159 Romania 7.91 years 2018 down 1.7% rising
160 Moldova 7.86 years 2019 down 4.1% falling
161 Ethiopia 7.84 years 2015 up 23.8% rising
162 Bolivia 7.84 years 2018 down 10.1% falling
163 Jordan 7.73 years 2019 down 14.5% falling
164 Cayman Islands 7.71 years 2018 down 6.8% falling
165 Jamaica 7.69 years 2019 down 12.0% falling
166 Democratic Republic of Congo 7.67 years 2015 up 16.6% rising
167 Honduras 7.66 years 2019 down 4.1% falling
168 Yemen 7.5 years 2016 up 7.1% rising
169 Puerto Rico 7.5 years 2018 down 12.6% falling
170 Micronesia (country) 7.49 years 2019 down 14.7% falling
171 Guinea 7.41 years 2014 up 23.4% rising
172 India 7.37 years 2019 down 4.5% rising
173 Liberia 7.18 years 2017 down 10.0% flat
174 Senegal 7.1 years 2019 up 5.5% rising
175 Bahamas 6.96 years 2018 down 20.5% falling
176 Central African Republic 6.87 years 2016 up 49.8% rising
177 Pakistan 6.56 years 2019 up 19.8% rising
178 Nigeria 6.54 years 2016 down 14.2% flat
179 Marshall Islands 6.52 years 2019 down 15.8% falling
180 Syria 6.47 years 2013 down 27.3% rising
181 Chad 6.4 years 2019 up 6.5% rising
182 Bulgaria 6.39 years 2018 down 18.2% falling
184 Mali 6.03 years 2018 down 2.2% rising
185 Sudan 5.88 years 2017 up 18.6% rising
186 Niger 5.82 years 2017 up 56.9% rising
187 Eritrea 5.78 years 2018 down 15.4% rising
188 Equatorial Guinea 5.22 years 2015 down 13.2% falling

Regions and income groups

Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.

About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes (years)
Unit
years
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
233 places, 4,584 data points, 1981–2020
Last refreshed

Number of years a person of school entrance age can expect to spend within the specified levels 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.