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

Jamaica: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes was 9.35 years in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
9.35 years
Change on year
down 2.0%
World rank
164th
of 197 countries
All-time high
11.05 years
in 1980
All-time low
9.35 years
in 2019
Years of data
29
1973–2019

School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Jamaica, 1973–2019

02.557.5101973199620191973: 10 years1974: 9.8 years1975: 9.8 years1976: 10.1 years1977: 10.2 years1979: 10.8 years1980: 11 years1981: 10.8 years1982: 10.7 years1983: 10.6 years1984: 10.4 years1985: 10.4 years1986: 10.3 years1987: 10.5 years1988: 10.7 years1989: 10.7 years1991: 10.9 years1993: 10.5 years1999: 10 years2000: 10 years2001: 10 years2002: 10 years2003: 9.9 years2004: 10.3 years2015: 9.5 years2016: 9.6 years2017: 9.4 years2018: 9.5 years2019: 9.3 years

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.

Analysis

The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Jamaica is 9.35 years, measured in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 29 years on record.

That represents a change of down 2.0% on the previous year and down 9.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Jamaica peaked at 11.05 years in 1980 and was at its lowest, 9.35 years, in 2019.

Jamaica ranks 164th of 197 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 29 years of available data.

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

Annual values for School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years) in Jamaica, 1973 to 2019.
Year years Change
1973 10 years
1974 9.81 years -2.0%
1975 9.75 years -0.6%
1976 10.07 years +3.3%
1977 10.17 years +1.0%
1979 10.8 years +6.2%
1980 11.05 years +2.3%
1981 10.79 years -2.3%
1982 10.7 years -0.9%
1983 10.61 years -0.8%
1984 10.42 years -1.8%
1985 10.43 years +0.1%
1986 10.27 years -1.6%
1987 10.5 years +2.3%
1988 10.68 years +1.6%
1989 10.72 years +0.4%
1991 10.94 years +2.0%
1993 10.49 years -4.1%
1999 10 years -4.6%
2000 10.05 years +0.5%
2001 10.01 years -0.4%
2002 10.03 years +0.2%
2003 9.94 years -0.9%
2004 10.3 years +3.6%
2015 9.51 years -7.6%
2016 9.59 years +0.8%
2017 9.41 years -1.9%
2018 9.53 years +1.4%
2019 9.35 years -2.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 10.1 years 9.75 years 10.8 years 6
1980s 10.62 years 10.27 years 11.05 years 10
1990s 10.48 years 10 years 10.94 years 3
2000s 10.06 years 9.94 years 10.3 years 5
2010s 9.48 years 9.35 years 9.59 years 5

Countries ranked near Jamaica

  1. 161 Republic of Moldova 9.59 years compare
  2. 162 Afghanistan 9.58 years compare
  3. 163 Tuvalu 9.52 years compare
  4. 165 Madagascar 9.33 years compare
  5. 166 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 9.25 years compare
  6. 167 Guatemala 9.18 years compare

See the full ranking of 242 places →

More education data for Jamaica

All data for Jamaica →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Jamaica?
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Jamaica was 9.35 years in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Jamaica?
The highest recorded value was 11.05 years in 1980.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Jamaica?
The lowest recorded value was 9.35 years in 2019.
How does Jamaica rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes?
Jamaica ranks 164th out of 197 countries with data for 2019.
Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Jamaica?
Over the last ten years it is down 9.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Jamaica 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 Jamaica. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 30 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-primary-and-secondary-both-sexes-years/jamaica/

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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.