School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years) in Laos
Laos: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years) was 8.21 years in 2025. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Laos, 1971–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Laos recorded 8.21 years for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in 2025.
That represents a change of down 1.5% on the previous year and down 18.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Laos peaked at 10.1 years in 2015 and was at its lowest, 3.73 years, in 1971.
Laos ranks 194th of 213 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 47 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years) in Laos, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 3.73 years | — |
| 1972 | 3.99 years | +6.9% |
| 1973 | 4.04 years | +1.1% |
| 1977 | 5.65 years | +40.1% |
| 1978 | 5.83 years | +3.2% |
| 1979 | 6.17 years | +5.8% |
| 1980 | 6.21 years | +0.5% |
| 1981 | 6.31 years | +1.7% |
| 1984 | 6.06 years | -4.0% |
| 1985 | 6.07 years | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 6.23 years | +2.6% |
| 1988 | 6.74 years | +8.2% |
| 1990 | 6.44 years | -4.4% |
| 1992 | 6.24 years | -3.1% |
| 1993 | 6.67 years | +6.9% |
| 1994 | 6.95 years | +4.2% |
| 1995 | 6.63 years | -4.5% |
| 1996 | 7.17 years | +8.0% |
| 1997 | 7.37 years | +2.9% |
| 1998 | 7.56 years | +2.5% |
| 1999 | 7.61 years | +0.7% |
| 2000 | 7.6 years | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 7.56 years | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 7.8 years | +3.2% |
| 2003 | 8.03 years | +2.9% |
| 2004 | 8.17 years | +1.6% |
| 2005 | 8.22 years | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 8.17 years | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 8.26 years | +1.2% |
| 2008 | 8.39 years | +1.6% |
| 2009 | 8.64 years | +2.9% |
| 2010 | 8.84 years | +2.4% |
| 2011 | 9.2 years | +4.0% |
| 2012 | 9.35 years | +1.6% |
| 2013 | 9.6 years | +2.7% |
| 2014 | 9.94 years | +3.5% |
| 2015 | 10.1 years | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 10.1 years | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 10.03 years | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 9.86 years | -1.7% |
| 2019 | 9.65 years | -2.1% |
| 2020 | 9.38 years | -2.8% |
| 2021 | 9.16 years | -2.4% |
| 2022 | 8.79 years | -4.0% |
| 2023 | 8.58 years | -2.4% |
| 2024 | 8.33 years | -2.9% |
| 2025 | 8.21 years | -1.5% |
Laos compared with similar countries
- Laos's 8.21 years is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 10.58 years, 78% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Laos's 8.21 years is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 11.75 years, 70% of the median. (33 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years) in Laos changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | +40.1% | 4.04 years | 5.65 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.9 years | 3.73 years | 6.17 years | 6 |
| 1980s | 6.27 years | 6.06 years | 6.74 years | 6 |
| 1990s | 6.96 years | 6.24 years | 7.61 years | 9 |
| 2000s | 8.08 years | 7.56 years | 8.64 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.67 years | 8.84 years | 10.1 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.74 years | 8.21 years | 9.38 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Laos
More education data for Laos
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 35,584 (2022)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 16,396 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 116,303 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 115,863 (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 532,092 (2025)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 739,554 (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.0716 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0939 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Laos?
- School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Laos was 8.21 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 10.1 years in 2015.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.73 years in 1971.
- How does Laos rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes?
- Laos ranks 194th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Laos data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 47 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release