School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: School life expectancy, primary, both sexes was 5.01 years in 2018. ▬ Flat
School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Sri Lanka, 1970–2018
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 5.01 years for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in 2018.
That represents a change of down 0.5% on the previous year and up 2.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Sri Lanka peaked at 6.12 years in 1986 and was at its lowest, 4.1 years, in 1976.
That places Sri Lanka 159th out of 199 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.75 years | 4.1 years | 5.7 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.88 years | 5.38 years | 6.12 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.39 years | 5.25 years | 5.5 years | 8 |
| 2000s | 5.02 years | 4.75 years | 5.38 years | 9 |
| 2010s | 5.03 years | 4.98 years | 5.08 years | 9 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More reference data data for Sri Lanka
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.1264 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.0088 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.2745 °C (2026)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.372 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 292.34 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.7892 °C (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Annual precipitation 2,057 millimeters (2025)
- Democracy 6 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Sri Lanka?
- School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Sri Lanka was 5.01 years in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 6.12 years in 1986.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.1 years in 1976.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes?
- Sri Lanka ranks 159th out of 199 countries with data for 2018.
- Is school life expectancy, primary, both sexes rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 46 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
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.