School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in United Kingdom

United Kingdom: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female was 14.33 years in 2018. ▲ Rising

Latest (2018)
14.33 years
Change on year
down 2.2%
World rank
9th
of 193 countries
All-time high
14.95 years
in 2013
All-time low
11.58 years
in 1973
Years of data
42
1971–2018

School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in United Kingdom, 1971–2018

0510151971199420181971: 11.6 years1972: 11.6 years1973: 11.6 years1974: 11.9 years1975: 12 years1976: 12 years1977: 12 years1978: 12 years1979: 12 years1980: 12 years1981: 12.1 years1982: 12.1 years1983: 12.1 years1984: 12.2 years1985: 12.1 years1986: 12.4 years1987: 12.4 years1988: 12.4 years1989: 12.4 years1990: 12.4 years1991: 12.6 years1992: 12.7 years1998: 13 years1999: 13.2 years2000: 13.2 years2001: 13.2 years2002: 13.2 years2003: 13.3 years2004: 13.8 years2005: 13.9 years2006: 13.3 years2007: 13.1 years2008: 13.2 years2009: 13.3 years2010: 13.5 years2011: 12.8 years2012: 12.8 years2013: 15 years2014: 14.8 years2015: 14.7 years2017: 14.7 years2018: 14.3 years

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.

Analysis

United Kingdom recorded 14.33 years for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in 2018.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.2% on the previous year and up 8.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in United Kingdom peaked at 14.95 years in 2013 and was at its lowest, 11.58 years, in 1973.

United Kingdom ranks 9th of 193 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 42 years of available data.

School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in United Kingdom, year by year

Annual values for School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female (years) in United Kingdom, 1971 to 2018.
Year years Change
1971 11.6 years
1972 11.6 years -0.0%
1973 11.58 years -0.1%
1974 11.93 years +3.0%
1975 11.95 years +0.2%
1976 11.98 years +0.2%
1977 12.01 years +0.3%
1978 11.98 years -0.2%
1979 11.99 years +0.0%
1980 12.03 years +0.4%
1981 12.06 years +0.3%
1982 12.08 years +0.1%
1983 12.1 years +0.1%
1984 12.16 years +0.5%
1985 12.12 years -0.3%
1986 12.4 years +2.3%
1987 12.42 years +0.2%
1988 12.36 years -0.5%
1989 12.36 years +0.0%
1990 12.44 years +0.6%
1991 12.59 years +1.3%
1992 12.72 years +1.0%
1998 13 years +2.2%
1999 13.16 years +1.3%
2000 13.21 years +0.3%
2001 13.19 years -0.2%
2002 13.25 years +0.5%
2003 13.28 years +0.3%
2004 13.81 years +4.0%
2005 13.89 years +0.5%
2006 13.31 years -4.1%
2007 13.08 years -1.7%
2008 13.23 years +1.1%
2009 13.29 years +0.5%
2010 13.45 years +1.2%
2011 12.85 years -4.5%
2012 12.76 years -0.7%
2013 14.95 years +17.2%
2014 14.83 years -0.8%
2015 14.66 years -1.2%
2017 14.65 years -0.0%
2018 14.33 years -2.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 11.85 years 11.58 years 12.01 years 9
1980s 12.21 years 12.03 years 12.42 years 10
1990s 12.78 years 12.44 years 13.16 years 5
2000s 13.35 years 13.08 years 13.89 years 10
2010s 14.06 years 12.76 years 14.95 years 8

Countries ranked near United Kingdom

  1. 6 Denmark 14.7 years compare
  2. 7 Australia 14.43 years compare
  3. 8 Netherlands 14.35 years compare
  4. 10 New Zealand 14.28 years compare
  5. 11 Slovenia 14.08 years compare
  6. 12 Tonga 14.02 years compare

See the full ranking of 238 places →

More education data for United Kingdom

All data for United Kingdom →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in United Kingdom?
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in United Kingdom was 14.33 years in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female recorded in United Kingdom?
The highest recorded value was 14.95 years in 2013.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female recorded in United Kingdom?
The lowest recorded value was 11.58 years in 1973.
How does United Kingdom rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female?
United Kingdom ranks 9th out of 193 countries with data for 2018.
Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female rising or falling in United Kingdom?
Over the last ten years it is up 8.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United Kingdom 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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School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in United Kingdom. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 28 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-primary-and-secondary-female-years/united-kingdom/

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About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female (years)
Unit
years
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
238 places, 7,783 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.