Statizoid

School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, female (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
188
Highest
12.5 years
Tonga
Lowest
5.24 years
Equatorial Guinea
Median
9.11 years
Years covered
40
1981–2020
Data points
4,492

What the numbers show

School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, female (years) is currently reported for 188 countries. The highest value is 12.5 years in Tonga; the lowest is 5.24 years in Equatorial Guinea.

The median across all reporting countries is 9.11 years, and the mean is 8.97 years.

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

Over the past decade 118 countries rose and 69 fell. The largest increase was in Angola (up 102.5%), and the largest decrease in Syria (down 26.5%).

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

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Tonga 12.5 years 2015 up 16.8% rising
2 Namibia 11.9 years 2017 up 11.3% rising
3 Ireland 11.78 years 2018 up 4.3% rising
4 Bhutan 11.48 years 2020 up 7.5% rising
5 Fiji 11.28 years 2019 up 9.2% rising
6 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 11.28 years 2018 up 1.7% flat
7 Nauru 11.25 years 2019 up 46.1% rising
8 Australia 11.2 years 2018 — flat
9 Grenada 11.16 years 2018 up 2.0% flat
10 Sweden 11.16 years 2018 up 25.8% rising
11 Sierra Leone 11.11 years 2019 up 35.3% rising
12 Costa Rica 11.01 years 2019 up 7.3% rising
13 Saint Kitts and Nevis 10.87 years 2016 up 2.8% flat
14 Eswatini 10.87 years 2016 up 9.3% rising
15 Lesotho 10.74 years 2017 up 1.9% rising
16 Algeria 10.68 years 2011 up 23.3% rising
17 Malawi 10.66 years 2019 up 8.8% rising
18 Denmark 10.6 years 2018 up 11.1% rising
19 Antigua and Barbuda 10.54 years 2018 down 8.7% falling
20 Argentina 10.52 years 2017 down 1.4% flat
21 Suriname 10.5 years 2019 up 1.7% rising
22 Belize 10.41 years 2019 up 2.4% flat
23 Lithuania 10.4 years 2018 up 1.9% rising
24 Oman 10.4 years 2019 up 14.2% rising
25 Mexico 10.38 years 2018 up 3.6% rising
26 Botswana 10.24 years 2015 down 4.2% flat
27 Benin 10.24 years 2016 up 53.1% rising
28 Togo 10.21 years 2017 up 28.8% rising
29 Trinidad and Tobago 10.21 years 2009 up 5.4% rising
30 Tunisia 10.21 years 2018 up 4.4% rising
31 New Zealand 10.19 years 2018 up 0.7% flat
32 Netherlands 10.17 years 2018 up 0.2% flat
33 Dominica 10.13 years 2019 up 0.5% falling
34 Norway 10.12 years 2018 up 2.8% rising
35 Nepal 10.08 years 2019 up 10.4% rising
36 Uruguay 10.06 years 2018 down 0.1% flat
37 Iceland 10.04 years 2018 up 1.6% flat
38 Hong Kong 10 years 2019 up 7.2% rising
39 Maldives 9.98 years 2019 down 10.2% falling
40 Sao Tome and Principe 9.98 years 2017 up 4.3% rising
41 Vietnam 9.93 years 2019 up 16.9% rising
42 Saint Lucia 9.93 years 2019 up 0.7% flat
43 Germany 9.92 years 2018 down 2.5% flat
44 Peru 9.91 years 2019 up 3.0% flat
45 Philippines 9.89 years 2018 up 8.9% rising
46 Colombia 9.87 years 2018 down 5.0% rising
47 Rwanda 9.87 years 2019 down 4.0% rising
48 Nicaragua 9.84 years 2010 up 19.3% rising
49 Spain 9.76 years 2018 down 9.3% rising
50 Vanuatu 9.72 years 2015 up 5.1% rising
51 Portugal 9.69 years 2018 down 5.4% falling
52 East Timor 9.65 years 2019 up 1.3% rising
53 Morocco 9.64 years 2019 up 16.8% rising
54 Malta 9.56 years 2018 down 12.6% falling
55 Israel 9.56 years 2018 up 3.9% flat
56 Belgium 9.55 years 2018 up 9.5% flat
57 Kazakhstan 9.54 years 2019 up 1.2% rising
58 United Kingdom 9.53 years 2018 up 2.3% rising
59 Luxembourg 9.52 years 2018 up 1.6% flat
60 Libya 9.49 years 2006 down 1.9% flat
61 United Arab Emirates 9.47 years 2017 up 10.5% rising
62 Iran 9.47 years 2017 up 23.6% rising
63 British Virgin Islands 9.46 years 2018 down 19.6% flat
64 Egypt 9.45 years 2019 up 9.3% rising
65 Turks and Caicos Islands 9.44 years 2018 up 3.0% flat
66 Switzerland 9.43 years 2018 down 1.1% flat
67 Ecuador 9.43 years 2018 up 6.7% rising
68 Cameroon 9.41 years 2016 up 41.7% rising
69 Thailand 9.41 years 2019 up 7.0% rising
70 Canada 9.4 years 2018 up 19.6% flat
71 Mauritius 9.39 years 2019 up 2.0% rising
72 Dominican Republic 9.37 years 2019 up 15.8% rising
73 Gibraltar 9.36 years 2019 up 10.1% rising
74 Seychelles 9.36 years 2019 down 4.9% flat
75 Congo 9.32 years 2012 up 19.9% rising
76 Saudi Arabia 9.32 years 2019 up 3.2% rising
77 Zimbabwe 9.28 years 2013 up 11.0% rising
78 Georgia 9.26 years 2019 up 1.1% flat
79 Macao 9.25 years 2019 up 11.1% flat
80 Albania 9.24 years 2019 up 9.6% rising
81 Cape Verde 9.21 years 2018 down 6.5% flat
82 Russia 9.21 years 2018 up 13.7% rising
83 Indonesia 9.21 years 2018 up 3.4% rising
84 Kiribati 9.2 years 2017 down 6.4% rising
85 Solomon Islands 9.19 years 2018 up 14.7% rising
86 Azerbaijan 9.19 years 2019 up 11.8% rising
87 Kuwait 9.17 years 2012 up 13.3% rising
88 Samoa 9.17 years 2019 up 7.4% rising
89 France 9.17 years 2018 down 1.7% flat
90 Kyrgyzstan 9.13 years 2019 up 5.5% rising
91 Ghana 9.13 years 2019 up 8.3% rising
92 Bangladesh 9.12 years 2018 up 27.5% rising
93 Qatar 9.12 years 2019 down 4.3% flat
94 United States 9.11 years 2018 down 1.2% flat
95 Liechtenstein 9.1 years 2018 down 3.3% flat
96 Slovenia 9.1 years 2018 up 2.9% rising
97 Finland 9.07 years 2018 up 2.1% flat
98 Latvia 9.06 years 2018 down 1.8% rising
99 Czechia 9.05 years 2018 up 0.1% rising
100 Mongolia 9.04 years 2018 down 2.3% rising
101 Brazil 9.04 years 2011 down 16.0% falling
102 Burundi 9.04 years 2019 up 3.3% rising
103 Malaysia 9.04 years 2017 up 4.4% flat
104 Estonia 9.01 years 2018 down 0.9% flat
105 Cyprus 8.99 years 2018 down 2.3% flat
106 Sri Lanka 8.98 years 2018 up 2.6% falling
107 Comoros 8.98 years 2018 up 11.3% rising
108 Belarus 8.97 years 2018 down 11.0% flat
109 Guyana 8.95 years 2012 down 6.9% falling
110 Greece 8.93 years 2018 up 3.7% rising
111 Poland 8.92 years 2018 up 4.9% rising
112 Barbados 8.92 years 2019 down 0.3% flat
113 Ukraine 8.91 years 2014 up 1.2% flat
114 Uzbekistan 8.91 years 2019 up 5.3% flat
115 Bahrain 8.91 years 2019 up 3.9% falling
116 China 8.88 years 2010 up 10.7% rising
117 Palestine 8.86 years 2019 down 3.0% rising
118 Tajikistan 8.86 years 2017 up 5.6% rising
119 South Korea 8.86 years 2018 down 2.3% flat
120 Tanzania 8.86 years 2019 down 0.8% rising
121 South Africa 8.83 years 2018 down 4.3% flat
122 Paraguay 8.78 years 2012 down 5.8% falling
123 Cuba 8.76 years 2019 down 0.1% flat
124 Gambia 8.74 years 2019 up 30.7% rising
125 Slovakia 8.74 years 2018 up 0.5% rising
126 Madagascar 8.72 years 2019 down 6.6% rising
127 Aruba 8.72 years 2012 down 2.2% flat
128 Montenegro 8.71 years 2019 down 3.2% flat
129 San Marino 8.64 years 2019 down 0.5% rising
130 Venezuela 8.63 years 2017 down 4.7% flat
131 Cambodia 8.62 years 2019 down 3.0% rising
132 Palau 8.6 years 2014 up 3.8% rising
133 Bermuda 8.59 years 2015 down 1.7% flat
134 Mozambique 8.58 years 2017 up 7.0% rising
135 Myanmar 8.55 years 2018 up 20.4% rising
136 Panama 8.47 years 2017 down 5.1% flat
137 North Macedonia 8.44 years 2018 up 6.5% rising
138 Mauritania 8.42 years 2019 up 18.3% rising
139 Cote d'Ivoire 8.4 years 2019 up 35.9% rising
140 Zambia 8.35 years 2017 down 9.4% rising
141 Armenia 8.27 years 2019 down 2.3% rising
142 Croatia 8.27 years 2018 up 0.9% rising
143 Burkina Faso 8.22 years 2019 up 54.0% rising
144 Brunei 8.21 years 2019 down 15.4% falling
145 Austria 8.17 years 2018 up 1.8% flat
146 El Salvador 8.13 years 2018 down 13.1% flat
147 Kenya 8.06 years 2016 up 5.3% rising
148 Chile 8.04 years 2018 down 2.8% flat
149 Italy 8 years 2018 down 3.1% flat
150 Serbia 7.97 years 2019 up 1.4% flat
151 Turkey 7.96 years 2018 up 0.8% rising
152 Guatemala 7.95 years 2019 down 9.0% rising
153 Laos 7.9 years 2019 up 9.1% rising
154 Hungary 7.89 years 2018 up 0.8% flat
155 Romania 7.85 years 2018 down 1.8% rising
156 Tuvalu 7.79 years 2019 down 16.5% falling
157 Moldova 7.77 years 2019 down 4.6% falling
158 Bolivia 7.75 years 2018 down 10.6% falling
159 Honduras 7.72 years 2019 down 5.3% falling
160 Iraq 7.7 years 2007 up 20.6% rising
161 Jordan 7.68 years 2019 down 15.3% falling
162 Cayman Islands 7.67 years 2018 down 6.0% falling
163 Jamaica 7.65 years 2019 down 12.8% falling
164 Senegal 7.62 years 2019 up 14.6% rising
165 Puerto Rico 7.53 years 2018 down 13.7% falling
166 Ethiopia 7.5 years 2015 up 36.9% rising
167 India 7.48 years 2019 down 4.2% rising
168 Micronesia (country) 7.46 years 2019 down 15.3% falling
169 Democratic Republic of Congo 7.41 years 2015 up 28.6% rising
170 Liberia 7.08 years 2017 down 5.5% rising
171 Bahamas 6.99 years 2018 down 19.0% falling
172 Yemen 6.82 years 2016 up 20.9% rising
173 Angola 6.62 years 2011 up 102.5% rising
174 Guinea 6.56 years 2014 up 33.7% rising
175 Afghanistan 6.51 years 2018 up 14.9% rising
176 Marshall Islands 6.47 years 2019 down 16.3% falling
177 Syria 6.35 years 2013 down 26.5% rising
178 Bulgaria 6.35 years 2018 down 17.8% flat
179 Nigeria 6.32 years 2016 down 9.6% rising
180 Djibouti 6.24 years 2020 up 37.9% rising
181 Pakistan 6.07 years 2019 up 22.0% rising
182 Central African Republic 5.95 years 2016 up 58.4% rising
183 Sudan 5.7 years 2017 up 25.7% rising
184 Mali 5.69 years 2018 up 4.6% rising
185 Chad 5.45 years 2019 up 15.0% rising
186 Eritrea 5.33 years 2018 down 12.5% rising
187 Niger 5.31 years 2017 up 71.9% rising
188 Equatorial Guinea 5.24 years 2015 down 9.2% 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, female (years)
Unit
years
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
233 places, 4,492 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.