Portugal vs World: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes

Portugal
16.72 years
in 2018
World
12.35 years
in 2019
Portugal rank
22nd
World rank
25th

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

  • Portugal
  • World
051015197019942019

How they compare

Portugal currently reports 16.72 years against 12.35 years in World, a difference of 4.37 years.

That makes Portugal's figure about 1.4 times World's.

Across all 40 years both countries report, Portugal has been ahead every year.

Portugal ranks 22nd and World ranks 25th of 183 countries.

Portugal has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Portugal World Difference Ahead
1970s 10.09 years 8.12 years 1.97 years Portugal
1980s 11.48 years 8.8 years 2.67 years Portugal
1990s 14.17 years 9.32 years 4.85 years Portugal
2000s 15.73 years 10.53 years 5.19 years Portugal
2010s 16.44 years 12.02 years 4.43 years Portugal

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes, Portugal or World?
Portugal, at 16.72 years against 12.35 years in World as of 2018.
What is the difference in school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes between Portugal and World?
4.37 years, with Portugal ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Portugal and World?
40 years are reported by both, from 1971 to 2018.
How do Portugal and World rank globally for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
Portugal ranks 22nd and World ranks 25th 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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Portugal vs World: 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/portugal/world/

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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.