School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years) in Nepal
Nepal: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years) was 12.48 years in 2019. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Nepal, 1981–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Nepal recorded 12.48 years for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in 2019. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.5% on the previous year and up 18.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Nepal peaked at 12.48 years in 2019 and was at its lowest, 4.49 years, in 1981.
Nepal ranks 51st 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 (years) in Nepal, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 4.49 years | — |
| 1982 | 4.75 years | +5.8% |
| 1983 | 5.19 years | +9.4% |
| 1984 | 5.43 years | +4.6% |
| 1985 | 5.46 years | +0.7% |
| 1986 | 5.54 years | +1.4% |
| 1987 | 5.69 years | +2.7% |
| 1988 | 6.05 years | +6.4% |
| 1989 | 6.76 years | +11.6% |
| 1990 | 7.2 years | +6.6% |
| 1991 | 7.35 years | +2.0% |
| 1992 | 7.62 years | +3.7% |
| 1993 | 7.64 years | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 7.7 years | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 7.78 years | +1.1% |
| 1996 | 8.14 years | +4.6% |
| 1999 | 8.43 years | +3.5% |
| 2000 | 8.75 years | +3.8% |
| 2001 | 8.34 years | -4.7% |
| 2002 | 8.9 years | +6.7% |
| 2003 | 8.96 years | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 9.1 years | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 9.53 years | +4.8% |
| 2007 | 9.47 years | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 9.85 years | +4.0% |
| 2009 | 10.51 years | +6.7% |
| 2010 | 11.21 years | +6.6% |
| 2011 | 11.67 years | +4.2% |
| 2012 | 11.82 years | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 11.81 years | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 11.79 years | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 11.9 years | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 12.04 years | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 12.18 years | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 12.48 years | +2.5% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 12.48 years is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 10.6 years, 1.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Nepal's 12.48 years is above the median for South Asia, which is 11.63 years, 1.1× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5.48 years | 4.49 years | 6.76 years | 9 |
| 1990s | 7.73 years | 7.2 years | 8.43 years | 8 |
| 2000s | 9.27 years | 8.34 years | 10.51 years | 9 |
| 2010s | 11.88 years | 11.21 years | 12.48 years | 9 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More education data for Nepal
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 98.55 (2025)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.24 (2025)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 124,257 (2025)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 263,796 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 752,326 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 609,324 (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.67 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.57 million (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.31 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Nepal?
- School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Nepal was 12.48 years in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 12.48 years in 2019.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.49 years in 1981.
- How does Nepal rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes?
- Nepal ranks 51st out of 197 countries with data for 2019.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nepal 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.