School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes was 6.89 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Ethiopia, 1994–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Ethiopia recorded 6.89 years for school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in 2023.
That represents a change of down 0.5% on the previous year and down 5.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Ethiopia peaked at 7.8 years in 2017 and was at its lowest, 1.97 years, in 1994.
That places Ethiopia 181st out of 200 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 1.97 years | — |
| 1995 | 2.23 years | +13.1% |
| 1996 | 2.62 years | +17.9% |
| 1997 | 2.81 years | +7.2% |
| 1999 | 3.8 years | +35.1% |
| 2000 | 4.08 years | +7.3% |
| 2001 | 4.48 years | +9.8% |
| 2002 | 4.77 years | +6.5% |
| 2003 | 4.96 years | +3.9% |
| 2004 | 5.21 years | +5.2% |
| 2005 | 5.98 years | +14.7% |
| 2006 | 6.49 years | +8.5% |
| 2007 | 6.96 years | +7.3% |
| 2008 | 7.34 years | +5.4% |
| 2009 | 7.23 years | -1.5% |
| 2010 | 7.17 years | -0.8% |
| 2011 | 7.32 years | +2.1% |
| 2012 | 7.29 years | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 7.31 years | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 7.4 years | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 7.8 years | +5.4% |
| 2021 | 6.92 years | -11.2% |
| 2022 | 6.93 years | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 6.89 years | -0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2.69 years | 1.97 years | 3.8 years | 5 |
| 2000s | 5.75 years | 4.08 years | 7.34 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.38 years | 7.17 years | 7.8 years | 6 |
| 2020s | 6.91 years | 6.89 years | 6.93 years | 3 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
More education data for Ethiopia
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 9.64 % change on previous year (2012)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 151,765 (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 186,951 (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 173,906 (2014)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 14.17 % change on previous year (2012)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 413,109 (2014)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) 7.68 % change on previous year (2012)
- Theoretical duration of primary education (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Ethiopia?
- School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Ethiopia was 6.89 years in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes recorded in Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 7.8 years in 2017.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.97 years in 1994.
- How does Ethiopia rank for school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes?
- Ethiopia ranks 181st out of 200 countries with data for 2023.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ethiopia 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 — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release