Canada vs United States of America: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes

Canada
16.22 years
in 2018
United States of America
16.28 years
in 2018
Canada rank
35th
United States of America rank
32nd

School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes over time

  • Canada
  • United States of America
051015197119942018

How they compare

United States of America currently reports 16.28 years against 16.22 years in Canada, a difference of 0.06 years.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 23 shared years of data; in 1976 it was Canada ahead.

Canada ranks 35th and United States of America ranks 32nd of 183 countries.

Across the 5 decades both report, Canada averaged higher in 3 and United States of America in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade Canada United States of America Difference Ahead
1970s 13.75 years 13.3 years 0.4468 years Canada
1980s 15.72 years 14.66 years 1.06 years Canada
1990s 16.7 years 15.78 years 0.9235 years Canada
2000s 15.37 years 15.74 years 0.3681 years United States of America
2010s 15.76 years 16.19 years 0.4285 years United States of America

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes, Canada or United States of America?
United States of America, at 16.28 years against 16.22 years in Canada as of 2018.
What is the difference in school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes between Canada and United States of America?
0.06 years, with United States of America ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Canada and United States of America?
23 years are reported by both, from 1976 to 2018.
How do Canada and United States of America rank globally for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
Canada ranks 35th and United States of America ranks 32nd of 183 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Canada vs United States of America: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes. Statizoid, drawing on Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Retrieved 09 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/compare/school-life-expectancy-primary-to-tertiary-both-sexes-years/canada/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years)
Unit
years
Source
Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
228 places, 7,038 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Expected years of schooling is the number of years a child of school entrance age is expected to spend at school, or university, including years spent on repetition. It is the sum of the age-specific enrolment ratios for primary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary and tertiary education.