School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes was 13.07 years in 2018. ▲ Rising

Latest (2018)
13.07 years
Change on year
up 1.3%
World rank
31st
of 197 countries
All-time high
13.07 years
in 2018
All-time low
7.44 years
in 1976
Years of data
29
1970–2018

School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Sri Lanka, 1970–2018

0510151970199420181970: 8.3 years1971: 8.5 years1972: 8.3 years1973: 8.2 years1974: 7.8 years1976: 7.4 years1980: 9.7 years1981: 9.9 years1982: 10 years1983: 10.1 years1984: 10.2 years1985: 10.4 years1986: 10.6 years1987: 10.9 years1988: 11.1 years1989: 11.2 years1990: 11.3 years1991: 11.3 years1992: 11.3 years1993: 11.4 years1994: 11.5 years1995: 11.6 years2010: 12.7 years2011: 12.9 years2012: 12.9 years2013: 13 years2016: 12.9 years2017: 12.9 years2018: 13.1 years

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.

Analysis

The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Sri Lanka is 13.07 years, measured in 2018. That is the highest value across all 29 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.3% on the previous year and up 2.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Sri Lanka peaked at 13.07 years in 2018 and was at its lowest, 7.44 years, in 1976.

Sri Lanka ranks 31st of 197 countries on this measure, in the top 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 Sri Lanka, year by year

Annual values for School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years) in Sri Lanka, 1970 to 2018.
Year years Change
1970 8.28 years
1971 8.54 years +3.1%
1972 8.31 years -2.6%
1973 8.18 years -1.6%
1974 7.83 years -4.3%
1976 7.44 years -4.9%
1980 9.71 years +30.4%
1981 9.92 years +2.1%
1982 9.96 years +0.4%
1983 10.06 years +1.1%
1984 10.21 years +1.4%
1985 10.36 years +1.6%
1986 10.57 years +2.0%
1987 10.89 years +2.9%
1988 11.08 years +1.8%
1989 11.24 years +1.4%
1990 11.3 years +0.5%
1991 11.27 years -0.2%
1992 11.3 years +0.3%
1993 11.36 years +0.5%
1994 11.47 years +1.0%
1995 11.58 years +1.0%
2010 12.74 years +10.0%
2011 12.9 years +1.3%
2012 12.88 years -0.1%
2013 12.99 years +0.8%
2016 12.88 years -0.8%
2017 12.9 years +0.1%
2018 13.07 years +1.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 8.1 years 7.44 years 8.54 years 6
1980s 10.4 years 9.71 years 11.24 years 10
1990s 11.38 years 11.27 years 11.58 years 6
2010s 12.91 years 12.74 years 13.07 years 7

Countries ranked near Sri Lanka

  1. 28 Naoero 13.13 years compare
  2. 29 Italy 13.13 years compare
  3. 30 Samoa 13.12 years compare
  4. 32 Liechtenstein 13.01 years compare
  5. 33 Saint Kitts and Nevis 12.96 years compare
  6. 34 Hong Kong 12.91 years compare

See the full ranking of 242 places →

More education data for Sri Lanka

All data for Sri Lanka →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Sri Lanka?
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Sri Lanka was 13.07 years in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Sri Lanka?
The highest recorded value was 13.07 years in 2018.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Sri Lanka?
The lowest recorded value was 7.44 years in 1976.
How does Sri Lanka rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes?
Sri Lanka ranks 31st out of 197 countries with data for 2018.
Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
Over the last ten years it is up 2.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sri Lanka 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 Sri Lanka. 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/sri-lanka/

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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.