School life expectancy, primary, female in Afghanistan

Afghanistan: School life expectancy, primary, female was 4.98 years in 2018. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2018)
4.98 years
Change on year
up 0.9%
World rank
153rd
of 197 countries
All-time high
5.21 years
in 2014
All-time low
0.2307 years
in 1999
Years of data
40
1970–2018

School life expectancy, primary, female in Afghanistan, 1970–2018

0123451970199420181970: 0.535 years1971: 0.536 years1972: 0.551 years1973: 0.578 years1974: 0.591 years1975: 0.627 years1976: 0.664 years1977: 0.708 years1978: 0.758 years1980: 0.977 years1981: 1.1 years1982: 0.689 years1984: 0.841 years1985: 0.928 years1986: 1.1 years1988: 1.3 years1989: 1.2 years1990: 1.2 years1991: 1.2 years1993: 0.909 years1994: 1.6 years1995: 1.7 years1999: 0.231 years2002: 2.6 years2003: 4 years2004: 3.8 years2005: 4.3 years2006: 4.7 years2007: 4.6 years2008: 4.7 years2009: 4.6 years2010: 4.8 years2011: 4.9 years2012: 5.2 years2013: 5.2 years2014: 5.2 years2015: 5 years2016: 5 years2017: 4.9 years2018: 5 years

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.

Analysis

The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary, female in Afghanistan is 4.98 years, measured in 2018.

That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and up 6.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary, female in Afghanistan peaked at 5.21 years in 2014 and was at its lowest, 0.2307 years, in 1999.

That places Afghanistan 153rd out of 197 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the bottom quarter.

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

School life expectancy, primary, female in Afghanistan, year by year

Annual values for School life expectancy, primary, female (years) in Afghanistan, 1970 to 2018.
Year years Change
1970 0.5353 years
1971 0.5365 years +0.2%
1972 0.5512 years +2.7%
1973 0.5784 years +4.9%
1974 0.5913 years +2.2%
1975 0.6273 years +6.1%
1976 0.6642 years +5.9%
1977 0.7083 years +6.6%
1978 0.7578 years +7.0%
1980 0.9774 years +29.0%
1981 1.08 years +10.7%
1982 0.6894 years -36.3%
1984 0.841 years +22.0%
1985 0.9283 years +10.4%
1986 1.08 years +16.6%
1988 1.29 years +19.4%
1989 1.24 years -3.8%
1990 1.22 years -1.7%
1991 1.15 years -5.8%
1993 0.9089 years -21.2%
1994 1.59 years +74.9%
1995 1.72 years +8.2%
1999 0.2307 years -86.6%
2002 2.61 years +1030.9%
2003 4 years +53.4%
2004 3.76 years -6.2%
2005 4.31 years +14.7%
2006 4.66 years +8.2%
2007 4.63 years -0.6%
2008 4.68 years +1.0%
2009 4.59 years -1.9%
2010 4.84 years +5.4%
2011 4.86 years +0.4%
2012 5.18 years +6.7%
2013 5.16 years -0.5%
2014 5.21 years +1.0%
2015 5.02 years -3.7%
2016 4.97 years -1.0%
2017 4.94 years -0.5%
2018 4.98 years +0.9%

Afghanistan compared with similar countries

  • Afghanistan's 4.98 years is below the median for low income countries, which is 5.78 years, 86% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
  • Afghanistan's 4.98 years is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 5.32 years, 94% of the median. (23 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where School life expectancy, primary, female in Afghanistan 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
2002 +1030.9% 0.2307 years 2.61 years
1999 -86.6% 1.72 years 0.2307 years
1994 +74.9% 0.9089 years 1.59 years
2003 +53.4% 2.61 years 4 years

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 0.6167 years 0.5353 years 0.7578 years 9
1980s 1.02 years 0.6894 years 1.29 years 8
1990s 1.14 years 0.2307 years 1.72 years 6
2000s 4.15 years 2.61 years 4.68 years 8
2010s 5.02 years 4.84 years 5.21 years 9

Countries ranked near Afghanistan

  1. 150 Montenegro 5.03 years compare
  2. 151 Brazil 5.03 years compare
  3. 152 Nigeria 5.02 years compare
  4. 154 Sri Lanka 4.98 years compare
  5. 155 Italy 4.96 years compare
  6. 156 Puerto Rico 4.96 years compare

See the full ranking of 242 places →

More reference data data for Afghanistan

All data for Afghanistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, primary, female in Afghanistan?
School life expectancy, primary, female in Afghanistan was 4.98 years in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school life expectancy, primary, female recorded in Afghanistan?
The highest recorded value was 5.21 years in 2014.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary, female recorded in Afghanistan?
The lowest recorded value was 0.2307 years in 1999.
How does Afghanistan rank for school life expectancy, primary, female?
Afghanistan ranks 153rd out of 197 countries with data for 2018.
Is school life expectancy, primary, female rising or falling in Afghanistan?
Over the last ten years it is up 6.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, primary, female (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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School life expectancy, primary, female in Afghanistan. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-primary-female-years/afghanistan/

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About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, primary, female (years)
Unit
years
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
242 places, 9,331 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.