School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in Latin America & Caribbean
Latin America & Caribbean: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female was 12.26 years in 2019. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in Latin America & Caribbean, 1970–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in Latin America & Caribbean is 12.26 years, measured in 2019. That is the highest value across all 50 years on record.
The figure is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 4.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 12.26 years in 2019 and was at its lowest, 9.8 years, in 1970.
That places Latin America & Caribbean 9th out of 45 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 50 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in Latin America & Caribbean, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 9.8 years | — |
| 1971 | 9.84 years | +0.4% |
| 1972 | 9.87 years | +0.4% |
| 1973 | 10.01 years | +1.4% |
| 1974 | 10.1 years | +0.9% |
| 1975 | 10.21 years | +1.0% |
| 1976 | 10.37 years | +1.6% |
| 1977 | 10.51 years | +1.4% |
| 1978 | 10.59 years | +0.8% |
| 1979 | 10.78 years | +1.8% |
| 1980 | 10.87 years | +0.9% |
| 1981 | 11.01 years | +1.2% |
| 1982 | 11.06 years | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 11.11 years | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 11.16 years | +0.4% |
| 1985 | 11.22 years | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 11.25 years | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 11.24 years | -0.1% |
| 1988 | 11.25 years | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 11.21 years | -0.3% |
| 1990 | 11.2 years | -0.1% |
| 1991 | 11.21 years | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 11.24 years | +0.3% |
| 1993 | 11.22 years | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 11.19 years | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 11.25 years | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 11.33 years | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 11.4 years | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 11.54 years | +1.2% |
| 1999 | 11.64 years | +0.9% |
| 2000 | 11.74 years | +0.9% |
| 2001 | 11.7 years | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 11.79 years | +0.8% |
| 2003 | 11.65 years | -1.2% |
| 2004 | 11.62 years | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 11.64 years | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 11.62 years | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 11.6 years | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 11.71 years | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 11.77 years | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 11.83 years | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 11.82 years | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 11.79 years | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 12.12 years | +2.8% |
| 2014 | 12.11 years | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 12.07 years | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 12.12 years | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 12.11 years | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 12.2 years | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 12.26 years | +0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 10.21 years | 9.8 years | 10.78 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 11.14 years | 10.87 years | 11.25 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 11.32 years | 11.19 years | 11.64 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.69 years | 11.6 years | 11.79 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.04 years | 11.79 years | 12.26 years | 10 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean
- 6 Denmark 14.7 years compare
- 7 Australia 14.43 years compare
- 8 Netherlands 14.35 years compare
- 9 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 14.33 years compare
- 10 New Zealand 14.28 years compare
- 11 Slovenia 14.08 years compare
- 12 Tonga 14.02 years compare
More education data for Latin America & Caribbean
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 61.44 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0928 units per person (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 3.34 million (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.1923 % change on previous year (2024)
- Population ages 15-64 67.7% (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 63.30 million (2024)
- Population ages 0-14 22.1% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in Latin America & Caribbean?
- School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in Latin America & Caribbean was 12.26 years in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The highest recorded value was 12.26 years in 2019.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.8 years in 1970.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female?
- Latin America & Caribbean ranks 9th out of 45 groups with data for 2019.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female (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.