School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Iran

Iran: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes was 11.7 years in 2017. ▲ Rising

Latest (2017)
11.7 years
Change on year
down 0.2%
World rank
93rd
of 197 countries
All-time high
11.77 years
in 2013
All-time low
5.97 years
in 1971
Years of data
35
1971–2017

School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Iran, 1971–2017

02.557.51012.51971199420171971: 6 years1972: 6 years1973: 6.3 years1974: 6.6 years1975: 7.3 years1976: 7.7 years1977: 8.1 years1985: 8.3 years1988: 8.8 years1990: 9.1 years1991: 9.2 years1992: 9.6 years1993: 9.7 years1994: 9.9 years1995: 10 years1997: 10.1 years1999: 10.3 years2000: 10.3 years2001: 10.5 years2002: 10.5 years2003: 10.5 years2004: 10.5 years2005: 10.3 years2006: 10.5 years2007: 10.5 years2008: 10.7 years2009: 10.8 years2010: 10.6 years2011: 10.8 years2012: 11 years2013: 11.8 years2014: 11.4 years2015: 11.5 years2016: 11.7 years2017: 11.7 years

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.

Analysis

Iran recorded 11.7 years for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in 2017.

The figure is down 0.2% on the previous year and up 11.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Iran peaked at 11.77 years in 2013 and was at its lowest, 5.97 years, in 1971.

Iran ranks 93rd of 197 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.

School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Iran, year by year

Annual values for School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years) in Iran, 1971 to 2017.
Year years Change
1971 5.97 years
1972 5.99 years +0.2%
1973 6.29 years +5.0%
1974 6.59 years +4.8%
1975 7.26 years +10.2%
1976 7.73 years +6.5%
1977 8.07 years +4.5%
1985 8.32 years +3.0%
1988 8.79 years +5.7%
1990 9.13 years +3.8%
1991 9.19 years +0.7%
1992 9.56 years +4.1%
1993 9.72 years +1.6%
1994 9.9 years +1.9%
1995 10 years +1.0%
1997 10.11 years +1.1%
1999 10.29 years +1.7%
2000 10.33 years +0.4%
2001 10.55 years +2.1%
2002 10.54 years -0.1%
2003 10.47 years -0.6%
2004 10.49 years +0.2%
2005 10.35 years -1.4%
2006 10.46 years +1.1%
2007 10.45 years -0.1%
2008 10.73 years +2.6%
2009 10.81 years +0.8%
2010 10.65 years -1.5%
2011 10.81 years +1.6%
2012 10.98 years +1.6%
2013 11.77 years +7.2%
2014 11.44 years -2.8%
2015 11.45 years +0.1%
2016 11.72 years +2.4%
2017 11.7 years -0.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 6.84 years 5.97 years 8.07 years 7
1980s 8.56 years 8.32 years 8.79 years 2
1990s 9.74 years 9.13 years 10.29 years 8
2000s 10.52 years 10.33 years 10.81 years 10
2010s 11.32 years 10.65 years 11.77 years 8

Countries ranked near Iran

  1. 90 Kazakhstan 11.79 years compare
  2. 91 Egypt 11.76 years compare
  3. 92 Indonesia 11.72 years compare
  4. 94 Bahrain 11.68 years compare
  5. 95 French Polynesia 11.68 years compare
  6. 96 Micronesia (country) 11.65 years compare

See the full ranking of 242 places →

More education data for Iran

All data for Iran →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Iran?
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Iran was 11.7 years in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Iran?
The highest recorded value was 11.77 years in 2013.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Iran?
The lowest recorded value was 5.97 years in 1971.
How does Iran rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes?
Iran ranks 93rd out of 197 countries with data for 2017.
Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Iran?
Over the last ten years it is up 11.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Iran 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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School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Iran. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 28 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-primary-and-secondary-both-sexes-years/iran-islamic-rep/

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About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years)
Unit
years
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
242 places, 8,554 data points, 1970–2020
Last refreshed

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.