School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in UNICEF: All Unicef Countries
UNICEF: All Unicef Countries: School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes was 8.37 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in UNICEF: All Unicef Countries, 1994–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
UNICEF: All Unicef Countries recorded 8.37 years for school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in 2024. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
The figure is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 1.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in UNICEF: All Unicef Countries peaked at 8.37 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 6.96 years, in 1995.
That places UNICEF: All Unicef Countries 124th 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 31 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in UNICEF: All Unicef Countries, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 6.97 years | — |
| 1995 | 6.96 years | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 7 years | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 7.01 years | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 7.02 years | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 7.08 years | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 7.13 years | +0.7% |
| 2001 | 7.17 years | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 7.3 years | +1.8% |
| 2003 | 7.48 years | +2.5% |
| 2004 | 7.61 years | +1.8% |
| 2005 | 7.74 years | +1.7% |
| 2006 | 7.84 years | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 7.92 years | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 7.95 years | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 7.96 years | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 8.03 years | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 8.06 years | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 8.25 years | +2.3% |
| 2013 | 8.28 years | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 8.21 years | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 8.19 years | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 8.29 years | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 8.28 years | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 8.16 years | -1.5% |
| 2019 | 8.16 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 8.22 years | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 8.18 years | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 8.28 years | +1.2% |
| 2023 | 8.29 years | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 8.37 years | +0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.01 years | 6.96 years | 7.08 years | 6 |
| 2000s | 7.61 years | 7.13 years | 7.96 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.19 years | 8.03 years | 8.29 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.27 years | 8.18 years | 8.37 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near UNICEF: All Unicef Countries
More education data for UNICEF: All Unicef Countries
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 29.12 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 0.4689 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 294.84 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 0.8422 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 274.67 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 1.48 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 569.51 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 371.32 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.35 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 178.96 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in UNICEF: All Unicef Countries?
- School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in UNICEF: All Unicef Countries was 8.37 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes recorded in UNICEF: All Unicef Countries?
- The highest recorded value was 8.37 years in 2024.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes recorded in UNICEF: All Unicef Countries?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.96 years in 1995.
- How does UNICEF: All Unicef Countries rank for school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes?
- UNICEF: All Unicef Countries ranks 124th out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes rising or falling in UNICEF: All Unicef Countries?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this UNICEF: All Unicef Countries 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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About this data
February 2026 Data Release