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

Spain: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes was 13.54 years in 2018. ▲ Rising

Latest (2018)
13.54 years
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
19th
of 197 countries
All-time high
13.59 years
in 2015
All-time low
9.54 years
in 1971
Years of data
48
1971–2018

School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Spain, 1971–2018

051015197119942018

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2018, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Spain stood at 13.54 years.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 4.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Spain peaked at 13.59 years in 2015 and was at its lowest, 9.54 years, in 1971.

Spain ranks 19th of 197 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 48 years of available data.

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

Annual values for School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years) in Spain, 1971 to 2018.
Year years Change
1971 9.54 years
1972 9.58 years +0.4%
1973 9.65 years +0.7%
1974 9.93 years +2.9%
1975 10.31 years +3.8%
1976 10.61 years +2.9%
1977 10.81 years +1.9%
1978 10.9 years +0.8%
1979 11.29 years +3.6%
1980 11.45 years +1.4%
1981 11.5 years +0.5%
1982 11.64 years +1.2%
1983 11.8 years +1.4%
1984 11.68 years -1.0%
1985 11.82 years +1.1%
1986 12.23 years +3.5%
1987 12.37 years +1.1%
1988 12.41 years +0.3%
1989 12.47 years +0.5%
1990 12.26 years -1.7%
1991 12.44 years +1.5%
1992 12.57 years +1.0%
1993 12.95 years +3.1%
1994 13.13 years +1.4%
1995 13.21 years +0.6%
1996 13.31 years +0.7%
1997 13.15 years -1.2%
1998 12.63 years -3.9%
1999 12.56 years -0.6%
2000 12.64 years +0.7%
2001 12.69 years +0.3%
2002 12.67 years -0.1%
2003 12.69 years +0.2%
2004 12.79 years +0.8%
2005 12.91 years +1.0%
2006 12.96 years +0.4%
2007 12.94 years -0.1%
2008 12.95 years +0.0%
2009 12.93 years -0.1%
2010 13.1 years +1.3%
2011 13.22 years +1.0%
2012 13.4 years +1.3%
2013 13.51 years +0.8%
2014 13.51 years +0.0%
2015 13.59 years +0.6%
2016 13.59 years -0.0%
2017 13.53 years -0.4%
2018 13.54 years +0.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 10.29 years 9.54 years 11.29 years 9
1980s 11.94 years 11.45 years 12.47 years 10
1990s 12.82 years 12.26 years 13.31 years 10
2000s 12.82 years 12.64 years 12.96 years 10
2010s 13.44 years 13.1 years 13.59 years 9

Countries ranked near Spain

  1. 16 Costa Rica 13.72 years compare
  2. 17 Uruguay 13.62 years compare
  3. 18 Palau 13.57 years compare
  4. 20 Portugal 13.51 years compare
  5. 21 Grenada 13.49 years compare
  6. 22 Switzerland 13.41 years compare

See the full ranking of 242 places →

More education data for Spain

All data for Spain →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Spain?
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Spain was 13.54 years in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Spain?
The highest recorded value was 13.59 years in 2015.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Spain?
The lowest recorded value was 9.54 years in 1971.
How does Spain rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes?
Spain ranks 19th out of 197 countries with data for 2018.
Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Spain?
Over the last ten years it is up 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Spain 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 Spain. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 23 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-primary-and-secondary-both-sexes-years/spain/

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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.