School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in European Union
European Union: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes was 13.22 years in 2019. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in European Union, 1970–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
European Union recorded 13.22 years for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in 2019.
The figure is up 3.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in European Union peaked at 13.26 years in 2017 and was at its lowest, 11.03 years, in 1970.
That places European Union 1st out of 45 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 50 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in European Union, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 11.03 years | — |
| 1971 | 11.03 years | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 11.09 years | +0.5% |
| 1973 | 11.15 years | +0.5% |
| 1974 | 11.27 years | +1.1% |
| 1975 | 11.29 years | +0.2% |
| 1976 | 11.33 years | +0.4% |
| 1977 | 11.36 years | +0.3% |
| 1978 | 11.37 years | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 11.38 years | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 11.39 years | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 11.4 years | +0.1% |
| 1982 | 11.44 years | +0.4% |
| 1983 | 11.47 years | +0.3% |
| 1984 | 11.51 years | +0.4% |
| 1985 | 11.58 years | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 11.73 years | +1.3% |
| 1987 | 11.82 years | +0.8% |
| 1988 | 11.85 years | +0.3% |
| 1989 | 11.89 years | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 11.89 years | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 11.92 years | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 11.97 years | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 12.3 years | +2.8% |
| 1994 | 12.52 years | +1.8% |
| 1995 | 12.54 years | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 12.61 years | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 12.65 years | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 12.6 years | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 12.57 years | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 12.63 years | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 12.69 years | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 12.72 years | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 12.74 years | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 12.7 years | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 12.84 years | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 12.8 years | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 12.78 years | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 12.83 years | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 12.83 years | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 12.9 years | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 12.84 years | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 12.82 years | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 13.25 years | +3.4% |
| 2014 | 13.2 years | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 13.21 years | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 13.21 years | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 13.26 years | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 13.22 years | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 13.22 years | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 11.23 years | 11.03 years | 11.38 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 11.61 years | 11.39 years | 11.89 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.36 years | 11.89 years | 12.65 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.76 years | 12.63 years | 12.84 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.11 years | 12.82 years | 13.26 years | 10 |
Countries ranked near European Union
More education data for European Union
- Population ages 15-64 63.3% (2025)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 1.89 million (2024)
- Population ages 0-14 14.2% (2025)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0517 units per person (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 23.26 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 37.39 million (2024)
- Primary 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 European Union?
- School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in European Union was 13.22 years in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in European Union?
- The highest recorded value was 13.26 years in 2017.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in European Union?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.03 years in 1970.
- How does European Union rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes?
- European Union ranks 1st out of 45 groups with data for 2019.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes rising or falling in European Union?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this European Union 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.