School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years) in Eswatini
Eswatini: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years) was 12.73 years in 2016. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Eswatini, 1970–2016
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2016, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Eswatini stood at 12.73 years. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.5% on the previous year and up 12.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Eswatini peaked at 12.73 years in 2016 and was at its lowest, 6.88 years, in 1970.
Eswatini ranks 42nd of 197 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years) in Eswatini, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 6.88 years | — |
| 1971 | 7.03 years | +2.2% |
| 1972 | 7.41 years | +5.4% |
| 1973 | 7.66 years | +3.3% |
| 1974 | 8.02 years | +4.8% |
| 1975 | 8.16 years | +1.7% |
| 1976 | 8.22 years | +0.7% |
| 1977 | 8.35 years | +1.6% |
| 1978 | 8.27 years | -0.9% |
| 1979 | 8.35 years | +0.9% |
| 1980 | 8.46 years | +1.4% |
| 1985 | 8.68 years | +2.6% |
| 1992 | 9.25 years | +6.6% |
| 1993 | 9.22 years | -0.3% |
| 1994 | 9.36 years | +1.4% |
| 1995 | 9.59 years | +2.5% |
| 1996 | 9.58 years | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 9.75 years | +1.7% |
| 1999 | 9.87 years | +1.3% |
| 2000 | 9.8 years | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 9.79 years | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 9.77 years | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 9.77 years | -0.0% |
| 2004 | 10.36 years | +6.1% |
| 2005 | 10.65 years | +2.8% |
| 2006 | 11.35 years | +6.6% |
| 2007 | 11.77 years | +3.7% |
| 2009 | 11.73 years | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 12.28 years | +4.6% |
| 2011 | 12.34 years | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 12.39 years | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 12.4 years | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 12.51 years | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 12.54 years | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 12.73 years | +1.5% |
Eswatini compared with similar countries
- Eswatini's 12.73 years is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 10.6 years, 1.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Eswatini's 12.73 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.91 years, 1.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 7.83 years | 6.88 years | 8.35 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 8.57 years | 8.46 years | 8.68 years | 2 |
| 1990s | 9.52 years | 9.22 years | 9.87 years | 7 |
| 2000s | 10.56 years | 9.77 years | 11.77 years | 9 |
| 2010s | 12.46 years | 12.28 years | 12.73 years | 7 |
Countries ranked near Eswatini
More education data for Eswatini
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 95.36 (2022)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 96.17 (2022)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7,225 (2022)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 15,165 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 12,768 (2015)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 11,269 (2015)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 108,288 (2016)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 222,351 (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.236 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Eswatini?
- School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Eswatini was 12.73 years in 2016, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Eswatini?
- The highest recorded value was 12.73 years in 2016.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Eswatini?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.88 years in 1970.
- How does Eswatini rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes?
- Eswatini ranks 42nd out of 197 countries with data for 2016.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Eswatini?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Eswatini 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.