School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Gambia
Gambia: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes was 7.84 years in 2010. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Gambia, 1971–2010
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Gambia recorded 7.84 years for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in 2010.
The figure is down 0.7% on the previous year and up 39.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Gambia peaked at 7.89 years in 2009 and was at its lowest, 2.04 years, in 1971.
Gambia ranks 184th of 197 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Gambia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 2.04 years | — |
| 1972 | 2.05 years | +0.5% |
| 1973 | 2.18 years | +6.1% |
| 1974 | 2.21 years | +1.6% |
| 1975 | 2.27 years | +2.8% |
| 1976 | 2.41 years | +5.8% |
| 1977 | 2.52 years | +4.6% |
| 1978 | 2.59 years | +2.9% |
| 1979 | 2.87 years | +10.7% |
| 1980 | 3.23 years | +12.7% |
| 1981 | 3.83 years | +18.5% |
| 1982 | 4.15 years | +8.3% |
| 1983 | 4.46 years | +7.6% |
| 1984 | 4.81 years | +7.8% |
| 1985 | 5.02 years | +4.4% |
| 1986 | 5.02 years | -0.1% |
| 1987 | 4.87 years | -3.0% |
| 1988 | 4.66 years | -4.2% |
| 1989 | 4.45 years | -4.5% |
| 1990 | 4.56 years | +2.5% |
| 1991 | 4.69 years | +2.9% |
| 1992 | 4.85 years | +3.2% |
| 1993 | 5.06 years | +4.4% |
| 1994 | 5.14 years | +1.6% |
| 1995 | 5.39 years | +4.9% |
| 1996 | 5.61 years | +4.0% |
| 2008 | 7.89 years | +40.6% |
| 2009 | 7.89 years | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 7.84 years | -0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.35 years | 2.04 years | 2.87 years | 9 |
| 1980s | 4.45 years | 3.23 years | 5.02 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.04 years | 4.56 years | 5.61 years | 7 |
| 2000s | 7.89 years | 7.89 years | 7.89 years | 2 |
| 2010s | 7.84 years | 7.84 years | 7.84 years | 1 |
Countries ranked near Gambia
More education data for Gambia
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 442,901 (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.4 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1569 units per person (2025)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 442,901 (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 2.4 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), per capita 0.1569 units per person (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 236,367 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Gambia?
- School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Gambia was 7.84 years in 2010, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Gambia?
- The highest recorded value was 7.89 years in 2009.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Gambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.04 years in 1971.
- How does Gambia rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes?
- Gambia ranks 184th out of 197 countries with data for 2010.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Gambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 39.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Gambia 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.