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

Tonga: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes was 13.92 years in 2015. ▲ Rising

Latest (2015)
13.92 years
Change on year
up 2.5%
World rank
14th
of 197 countries
All-time high
14.07 years
in 2003
All-time low
10.7 years
in 1973
Years of data
33
1970–2015

School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Tonga, 1970–2015

0510151970199220151970: 11.8 years1971: 11.2 years1972: 10.9 years1973: 10.7 years1974: 10.9 years1975: 11.6 years1978: 12.4 years1981: 13.5 years1982: 13.5 years1983: 13.4 years1984: 13.8 years1985: 13.3 years1986: 12.9 years1990: 13.5 years1991: 13.3 years1993: 14.1 years1998: 12.8 years1999: 13.3 years2000: 12.9 years2001: 13.1 years2002: 13.2 years2003: 14.1 years2004: 13 years2006: 12.7 years2007: 12.8 years2008: 12.6 years2009: 12.6 years2010: 12.7 years2011: 13 years2012: 13.4 years2013: 13.7 years2014: 13.6 years2015: 13.9 years

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 in Tonga, year by year

Annual values for School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years) in Tonga, 1970 to 2015.
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%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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

  1. 11 New Zealand 14.05 years compare
  2. 12 Slovenia 14 years compare
  3. 13 Norway 13.96 years compare
  4. 15 Malta 13.78 years compare
  5. 16 Costa Rica 13.72 years compare
  6. 17 Uruguay 13.62 years compare

See the full ranking of 242 places →

More education data for Tonga

All data for Tonga →

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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School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Tonga. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 22 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-primary-and-secondary-both-sexes-years/tonga/

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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.