School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Canada
Canada: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes was 12.86 years in 2018. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Canada, 1971–2018
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2018, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Canada stood at 12.86 years. That is the highest value across all 43 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 7.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Canada peaked at 12.86 years in 2018 and was at its lowest, 11.23 years, in 1980.
Canada ranks 35th of 197 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 43 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Canada, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 11.94 years | — |
| 1972 | 11.79 years | -1.3% |
| 1973 | 11.57 years | -1.8% |
| 1974 | 11.37 years | -1.8% |
| 1975 | 11.39 years | +0.2% |
| 1976 | 11.35 years | -0.4% |
| 1977 | 11.36 years | +0.1% |
| 1978 | 11.34 years | -0.2% |
| 1979 | 11.27 years | -0.5% |
| 1980 | 11.23 years | -0.4% |
| 1981 | 11.27 years | +0.3% |
| 1982 | 11.84 years | +5.1% |
| 1983 | 11.97 years | +1.1% |
| 1984 | 12.12 years | +1.3% |
| 1985 | 12.17 years | +0.4% |
| 1986 | 12.19 years | +0.2% |
| 1987 | 12.18 years | -0.1% |
| 1988 | 12.2 years | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 12.23 years | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 12.24 years | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 12.35 years | +0.9% |
| 1992 | 12.38 years | +0.3% |
| 1993 | 12.44 years | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 12.46 years | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 12.42 years | -0.3% |
| 1996 | 12.5 years | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 12.33 years | -1.4% |
| 1999 | 12.16 years | -1.4% |
| 2000 | 12.16 years | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 11.93 years | -2.0% |
| 2006 | 12.04 years | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 12.05 years | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 12.02 years | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 12.1 years | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 12.06 years | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 12.09 years | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 12.49 years | +3.3% |
| 2013 | 12.5 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 12.54 years | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 12.65 years | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 12.74 years | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 12.81 years | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 12.86 years | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 11.49 years | 11.27 years | 11.94 years | 9 |
| 1980s | 11.94 years | 11.23 years | 12.23 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.36 years | 12.16 years | 12.5 years | 9 |
| 2000s | 12.05 years | 11.93 years | 12.16 years | 6 |
| 2010s | 12.53 years | 12.06 years | 12.86 years | 9 |
Countries ranked near Canada
- 32 Liechtenstein 13.01 years compare
- 33 Saint Kitts and Nevis 12.96 years compare
- 34 Hong Kong, China 12.91 years compare
- 36 Antigua and Barbuda 12.86 years compare
- 37 Thailand 12.81 years compare
- 38 Germany 12.78 years compare
More education data for Canada
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 141,045 (2000)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 64.8% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 15.0% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 95.01 (2023)
- School enrollment, primary 95.0% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Canada?
- School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Canada was 12.86 years in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 12.86 years in 2018.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.23 years in 1980.
- How does Canada rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes?
- Canada ranks 35th out of 197 countries with data for 2018.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada 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.