School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in SDG: World
SDG: World: School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes was 8.43 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in SDG: World, 1996–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
SDG: World recorded 8.43 years for school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in 2024. That is the highest value across all 29 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 1.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in SDG: World peaked at 8.43 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 7.2 years, in 1996.
That places SDG: World 116th out of 221 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in SDG: World, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 7.2 years | — |
| 1997 | 7.22 years | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 7.22 years | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 7.29 years | +0.9% |
| 2000 | 7.33 years | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 7.36 years | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 7.48 years | +1.6% |
| 2003 | 7.64 years | +2.2% |
| 2004 | 7.76 years | +1.6% |
| 2005 | 7.88 years | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 7.97 years | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 8.05 years | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 8.07 years | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 8.08 years | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 8.15 years | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 8.17 years | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 8.34 years | +2.1% |
| 2013 | 8.37 years | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 8.3 years | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 8.28 years | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 8.37 years | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 8.37 years | -0.0% |
| 2018 | 8.25 years | -1.4% |
| 2019 | 8.25 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 8.3 years | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 8.27 years | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 8.35 years | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 8.36 years | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 8.43 years | +0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.23 years | 7.2 years | 7.29 years | 4 |
| 2000s | 7.76 years | 7.33 years | 8.08 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.29 years | 8.15 years | 8.37 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.34 years | 8.27 years | 8.43 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near SDG: World
More education data for SDG: World
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 1.35 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 129.51 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 1.15 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 139.06 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 10.50 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 23.60 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) 1.57 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), annual growth rate 0.1689 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), annual growth rate 1.69 % change on previous year (2024)
- Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general 89.8% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in SDG: World?
- School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in SDG: World was 8.43 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes recorded in SDG: World?
- The highest recorded value was 8.43 years in 2024.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes recorded in SDG: World?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.2 years in 1996.
- How does SDG: World rank for school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes?
- SDG: World ranks 116th out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes rising or falling in SDG: World?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this SDG: World 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release