School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes was 10.9 years in 2018. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Bangladesh, 1973–2018
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2018, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Bangladesh stood at 10.9 years. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.7% on the previous year and up 33.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Bangladesh peaked at 10.9 years in 2018 and was at its lowest, 4.65 years, in 1981.
Bangladesh ranks 129th of 197 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Bangladesh, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 5.25 years | — |
| 1976 | 5.26 years | +0.3% |
| 1977 | 4.98 years | -5.4% |
| 1979 | 4.85 years | -2.6% |
| 1980 | 4.91 years | +1.3% |
| 1981 | 4.65 years | -5.2% |
| 1983 | 5.03 years | +8.1% |
| 1984 | 5.01 years | -0.4% |
| 1985 | 4.89 years | -2.3% |
| 1986 | 4.86 years | -0.8% |
| 1987 | 4.84 years | -0.3% |
| 1988 | 5.42 years | +12.0% |
| 1989 | 5.41 years | -0.2% |
| 1990 | 5.62 years | +3.8% |
| 2005 | 8.34 years | +48.4% |
| 2006 | 8.42 years | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 8.44 years | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 8.19 years | -2.9% |
| 2009 | 8.63 years | +5.3% |
| 2010 | 8.89 years | +3.0% |
| 2017 | 10.61 years | +19.4% |
| 2018 | 10.9 years | +2.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.08 years | 4.85 years | 5.26 years | 4 |
| 1980s | 5 years | 4.65 years | 5.42 years | 9 |
| 1990s | 5.62 years | 5.62 years | 5.62 years | 1 |
| 2000s | 8.4 years | 8.19 years | 8.63 years | 5 |
| 2010s | 10.13 years | 8.89 years | 10.9 years | 3 |
Countries ranked near Bangladesh
More education data for Bangladesh
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 387,056 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.73 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.77 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 15.07 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 16.69 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.67 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0961 units per person (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Bangladesh?
- School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Bangladesh was 10.9 years in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Bangladesh?
- The highest recorded value was 10.9 years in 2018.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Bangladesh?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.65 years in 1981.
- How does Bangladesh rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes?
- Bangladesh ranks 129th out of 197 countries with data for 2018.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Bangladesh?
- Over the last ten years it is up 33.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bangladesh 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.
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About this data
Number of years a person of school entrance age can expect to spend within the specified level of education. For a child of a certain age a, the school life expectancy is calculated as the sum of the age specific enrolment rates for the levels of education specified. The part of the enrolment that is not distributed by age is divided by the school-age population for the level of education they are enrolled in, and multiplied by the duration of that level of education. The result is then added to the sum of the age-specific enrolment rates. A relatively high SLE indicates greater probability for children to spend more years in education and higher overall retention within the education system. It must be noted that the expected number of years does not necessarily coincide with the expected number of grades of education completed, because of repetition. Since school life expectancy is an average based on participation in different levels of education, the expected number of years of schooling may be pulled down by the magnitude of children who never go to school. Those children who are in school may benefit from many more years of education than the average.