School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in United States
United States: School life expectancy, primary, both sexes was 6.07 years in 2018. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in United States, 1971–2018
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in United States is 6.07 years, measured in 2018.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.6% on the previous year and down 1.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in United States peaked at 6.37 years in 1990 and was at its lowest, 5.31 years, in 1972.
That places United States 108th out of 199 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 44 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.4 years | 5.31 years | 5.46 years | 9 |
| 1980s | 5.96 years | 5.87 years | 6.07 years | 8 |
| 1990s | 6.24 years | 6.13 years | 6.37 years | 8 |
| 2000s | 6.09 years | 5.99 years | 6.18 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.01 years | 5.95 years | 6.11 years | 9 |
Countries ranked near United States
- 105 Comoros 6.09 years compare
- 106 Canada 6.09 years compare
- 107 Saudi Arabia 6.08 years compare
- 109 Bermuda 6.07 years compare
- 110 United Kingdom 6.07 years compare
- 111 New Zealand 6.06 years compare
More reference data data for United States
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.0594 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.5014 °C (2026)
- Spring temperature anomalies 2.51 °C (2026)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.8696 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 143.86 2010 = 100 (2024)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.9189 °C (2025)
- Democracy 7 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
- Civil liberties rating 2 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in United States?
- School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in United States was 6.07 years in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 6.37 years in 1990.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.31 years in 1972.
- How does United States rank for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes?
- United States ranks 108th out of 199 countries with data for 2018.
- Is school life expectancy, primary, both sexes rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States 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.
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CSV · JSON — 44 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.