School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in China
China: School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes was 9.28 years in 2012. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in China, 1995–2012
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
China recorded 9.28 years for school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in 2012.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.6% on the previous year and up 9.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in China peaked at 9.43 years in 2008 and was at its lowest, 7.66 years, in 1995.
China ranks 79th of 200 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in China, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 7.66 years | — |
| 1996 | 7.83 years | +2.2% |
| 1997 | 7.95 years | +1.5% |
| 2001 | 8.46 years | +6.4% |
| 2006 | 9.37 years | +10.7% |
| 2007 | 9.41 years | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 9.43 years | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 9.42 years | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 9.36 years | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 9.33 years | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 9.28 years | -0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.81 years | 7.66 years | 7.95 years | 3 |
| 2000s | 9.22 years | 8.46 years | 9.43 years | 5 |
| 2010s | 9.32 years | 9.28 years | 9.36 years | 3 |
Countries ranked near China
More education data for China
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,023 tertiary education (2024)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 6.74 million (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 69.7% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 15.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in China?
- School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in China was 9.28 years in 2012, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 9.43 years in 2008.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.66 years in 1995.
- How does China rank for school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes?
- China ranks 79th out of 200 countries with data for 2012.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release