School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa

UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa: School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes was 8.63 years in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
8.63 years
Change on year
down 0.4%
Rank
99th
of 221 groups
All-time high
8.67 years
in 2023
All-time low
7.37 years
in 1995
Years of data
31
1994–2024

School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa, 1994–2024

024681994200920241994: 7.5 years1995: 7.4 years1996: 7.5 years1997: 7.5 years1998: 7.6 years1999: 7.7 years2000: 7.7 years2001: 7.8 years2002: 7.9 years2003: 8 years2004: 8.1 years2005: 8.3 years2006: 8.3 years2007: 8.4 years2008: 8.3 years2009: 8.3 years2010: 8.4 years2011: 8.4 years2012: 8.5 years2013: 8.3 years2014: 8.2 years2015: 8.2 years2016: 8.4 years2017: 8.5 years2018: 8.5 years2019: 8.5 years2020: 8.6 years2021: 8.6 years2022: 8.5 years2023: 8.7 years2024: 8.6 years

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.

Analysis

The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa is 8.63 years, measured in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.4% on the previous year and up 5.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa peaked at 8.67 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 7.37 years, in 1995.

That places UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa 99th 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: Middle East and North Africa, year by year

Annual values for School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes (years) in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa, 1994 to 2024.
Year years Change
1994 7.48 years
1995 7.37 years -1.4%
1996 7.46 years +1.2%
1997 7.49 years +0.5%
1998 7.57 years +1.1%
1999 7.66 years +1.1%
2000 7.72 years +0.8%
2001 7.82 years +1.4%
2002 7.94 years +1.5%
2003 7.99 years +0.7%
2004 8.05 years +0.8%
2005 8.29 years +2.9%
2006 8.3 years +0.2%
2007 8.36 years +0.7%
2008 8.26 years -1.3%
2009 8.33 years +0.9%
2010 8.37 years +0.4%
2011 8.41 years +0.5%
2012 8.5 years +1.1%
2013 8.29 years -2.4%
2014 8.22 years -0.9%
2015 8.25 years +0.4%
2016 8.42 years +2.1%
2017 8.45 years +0.4%
2018 8.5 years +0.6%
2019 8.54 years +0.5%
2020 8.59 years +0.6%
2021 8.6 years +0.1%
2022 8.55 years -0.6%
2023 8.67 years +1.5%
2024 8.63 years -0.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 7.51 years 7.37 years 7.66 years 6
2000s 8.11 years 7.72 years 8.36 years 10
2010s 8.39 years 8.22 years 8.54 years 10
2020s 8.61 years 8.55 years 8.67 years 5

Countries ranked near UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa

  1. 96 Indonesia 8.98 years compare
  2. 97 Korea 8.97 years compare
  3. 98 Armenia 8.95 years compare
  4. 99 Estonia 8.94 years compare
  5. 100 Philippines 8.94 years compare
  6. 101 Azerbaijan 8.91 years compare
  7. 102 Latvia 8.9 years compare

See the full ranking of 421 places →

More education data for UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa

All data for UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa?
School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa was 8.63 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: Middle East and North Africa?
The highest recorded value was 8.67 years in 2023.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes recorded in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 7.37 years in 1995.
How does UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa rank for school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes?
UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa ranks 99th out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
Is school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes rising or falling in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 5.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa 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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School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in UNICEF: Middle East and North Africa. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 13 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-primary-and-lower-secondary-both-sexes-years-2/unicef-middle-east-and-north-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes (years)
Unit
years
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
421 places, 10,349 data points, 1981–2025
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release