School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in OECD members
OECD members: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female was 12.56 years in 2019. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in OECD members, 1970–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2019, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in OECD members stood at 12.56 years.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in OECD members peaked at 12.57 years in 2017 and was at its lowest, 9.2 years, in 1970.
That places OECD members 2nd out of 43 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 50 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in OECD members, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 9.2 years | — |
| 1971 | 9.21 years | +0.2% |
| 1972 | 9.27 years | +0.6% |
| 1973 | 9.45 years | +2.0% |
| 1974 | 9.57 years | +1.2% |
| 1975 | 9.65 years | +0.8% |
| 1976 | 9.81 years | +1.7% |
| 1977 | 9.97 years | +1.6% |
| 1978 | 10.06 years | +0.9% |
| 1979 | 10.08 years | +0.2% |
| 1980 | 10.39 years | +3.1% |
| 1981 | 10.47 years | +0.8% |
| 1982 | 10.57 years | +0.9% |
| 1983 | 10.6 years | +0.3% |
| 1984 | 10.67 years | +0.7% |
| 1985 | 10.69 years | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 10.83 years | +1.3% |
| 1987 | 10.88 years | +0.5% |
| 1988 | 10.89 years | +0.1% |
| 1989 | 10.91 years | +0.1% |
| 1990 | 10.91 years | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 10.96 years | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 11.05 years | +0.8% |
| 1993 | 11.19 years | +1.3% |
| 1994 | 11.3 years | +1.0% |
| 1995 | 11.38 years | +0.6% |
| 1996 | 11.43 years | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 11.51 years | +0.7% |
| 1998 | 11.58 years | +0.7% |
| 1999 | 11.59 years | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 11.59 years | -0.0% |
| 2001 | 11.69 years | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 11.72 years | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 11.8 years | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 11.81 years | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 11.88 years | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 11.92 years | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 11.98 years | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 12.02 years | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 12.08 years | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 12.1 years | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 12.12 years | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 12.1 years | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 12.41 years | +2.6% |
| 2014 | 12.47 years | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 12.52 years | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 12.55 years | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 12.57 years | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 12.56 years | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 12.56 years | -0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 9.63 years | 9.2 years | 10.08 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 10.69 years | 10.39 years | 10.91 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 11.29 years | 10.91 years | 11.59 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.85 years | 11.59 years | 12.08 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.4 years | 12.1 years | 12.57 years | 10 |
Countries ranked near OECD members
More education data for OECD members
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 6.28 million (2024)
- Population ages 15-64 64.5% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 16.4% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 100.7% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, per capita 0.0045 units per person (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 6.28 million (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 100.4% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, male 100.9% (2024)
- Labor force, total 709.91 million (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in OECD members?
- School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in OECD members was 12.56 years in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female recorded in OECD members?
- The highest recorded value was 12.57 years in 2017.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female recorded in OECD members?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.2 years in 1970.
- How does OECD members rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female?
- OECD members ranks 2nd out of 43 groups with data for 2019.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female rising or falling in OECD members?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this OECD members 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.