School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years) in Tonga
Tonga: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years) was 13.92 years in 2015. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Tonga, 1970–2015
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2015, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Tonga stood at 13.92 years.
That represents a change of up 2.5% on the previous year and up 7.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Tonga peaked at 14.07 years in 2003 and was at its lowest, 10.7 years, in 1973.
That places Tonga 14th out of 197 countries with data for 2015, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years) in Tonga, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 11.8 years | — |
| 1971 | 11.16 years | -5.4% |
| 1972 | 10.95 years | -1.9% |
| 1973 | 10.7 years | -2.3% |
| 1974 | 10.86 years | +1.5% |
| 1975 | 11.65 years | +7.3% |
| 1978 | 12.42 years | +6.7% |
| 1981 | 13.53 years | +8.9% |
| 1982 | 13.53 years | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 13.35 years | -1.3% |
| 1984 | 13.84 years | +3.7% |
| 1985 | 13.3 years | -3.9% |
| 1986 | 12.88 years | -3.1% |
| 1990 | 13.48 years | +4.7% |
| 1991 | 13.33 years | -1.1% |
| 1993 | 14.06 years | +5.5% |
| 1998 | 12.8 years | -9.0% |
| 1999 | 13.34 years | +4.3% |
| 2000 | 12.86 years | -3.6% |
| 2001 | 13.07 years | +1.6% |
| 2002 | 13.2 years | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 14.07 years | +6.7% |
| 2004 | 12.99 years | -7.7% |
| 2006 | 12.71 years | -2.2% |
| 2007 | 12.82 years | +0.8% |
| 2008 | 12.64 years | -1.4% |
| 2009 | 12.62 years | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 12.72 years | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 12.97 years | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 13.42 years | +3.5% |
| 2013 | 13.68 years | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 13.58 years | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 13.92 years | +2.5% |
Tonga compared with similar countries
- Tonga's 13.92 years is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 11.68 years, 1.2× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Tonga's 13.92 years is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 11.7 years, 1.2× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 11.36 years | 10.7 years | 12.42 years | 7 |
| 1980s | 13.41 years | 12.88 years | 13.84 years | 6 |
| 1990s | 13.4 years | 12.8 years | 14.06 years | 5 |
| 2000s | 13 years | 12.62 years | 14.07 years | 9 |
| 2010s | 13.38 years | 12.72 years | 13.92 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Tonga
More education data for Tonga
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 87.87 (1999)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 98.13 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 1,086 (2015)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 20 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1,228 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1,164 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 16,132 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 15,644 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.92 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Tonga?
- School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Tonga was 13.92 years in 2015, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Tonga?
- The highest recorded value was 14.07 years in 2003.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Tonga?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.7 years in 1973.
- How does Tonga rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes?
- Tonga ranks 14th out of 197 countries with data for 2015.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Tonga?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Tonga 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.