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

United States: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female was 11.99 years in 2018. ▬ Flat

Latest (2018)
11.99 years
Change on year
down 0.1%
World rank
75th
of 193 countries
All-time high
12.13 years
in 1998
All-time low
11.53 years
in 1981
Years of data
33
1981–2018

School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in United States, 1981–2018

02.557.51012.51981199920181981: 11.5 years1982: 11.8 years1983: 11.6 years1984: 11.7 years1985: 11.7 years1986: 11.8 years1987: 11.8 years1990: 11.8 years1991: 11.8 years1993: 12 years1994: 12 years1995: 12.1 years1996: 12 years1998: 12.1 years2000: 11.7 years2001: 11.8 years2002: 11.7 years2003: 11.8 years2004: 11.8 years2005: 11.8 years2006: 11.8 years2007: 11.9 years2008: 11.9 years2009: 11.9 years2010: 11.7 years2011: 11.7 years2012: 11.7 years2013: 11.7 years2014: 11.8 years2015: 11.9 years2016: 12 years2017: 12 years2018: 12 years

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.

Analysis

The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in United States is 11.99 years, measured in 2018.

That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and up 0.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in United States peaked at 12.13 years in 1998 and was at its lowest, 11.53 years, in 1981.

United States ranks 75th of 193 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Annual values for School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female (years) in United States, 1981 to 2018.
Year years Change
1981 11.53 years
1982 11.8 years +2.3%
1983 11.65 years -1.3%
1984 11.71 years +0.5%
1985 11.66 years -0.5%
1986 11.82 years +1.4%
1987 11.82 years +0.0%
1990 11.84 years +0.1%
1991 11.81 years -0.3%
1993 11.96 years +1.3%
1994 12.02 years +0.5%
1995 12.06 years +0.4%
1996 11.98 years -0.7%
1998 12.13 years +1.3%
2000 11.69 years -3.7%
2001 11.83 years +1.3%
2002 11.67 years -1.4%
2003 11.79 years +1.1%
2004 11.81 years +0.2%
2005 11.82 years +0.1%
2006 11.81 years -0.1%
2007 11.89 years +0.7%
2008 11.88 years -0.1%
2009 11.88 years -0.0%
2010 11.69 years -1.6%
2011 11.73 years +0.4%
2012 11.68 years -0.4%
2013 11.71 years +0.2%
2014 11.81 years +0.9%
2015 11.9 years +0.8%
2016 11.98 years +0.6%
2017 12 years +0.2%
2018 11.99 years -0.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 11.71 years 11.53 years 11.82 years 7
1990s 11.97 years 11.81 years 12.13 years 7
2000s 11.81 years 11.67 years 11.89 years 10
2010s 11.83 years 11.68 years 12 years 9

Countries ranked near United States

  1. 72 Hungary 12.05 years compare
  2. 73 Croatia 12.04 years compare
  3. 74 Dominica 12 years compare
  4. 76 Macao 11.98 years compare
  5. 77 Albania 11.97 years compare
  6. 78 Peru 11.96 years compare

See the full ranking of 238 places →

More education data for United States

All data for United States →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in United States?
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in United States was 11.99 years in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female recorded in United States?
The highest recorded value was 12.13 years in 1998.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female recorded in United States?
The lowest recorded value was 11.53 years in 1981.
How does United States rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female?
United States ranks 75th out of 193 countries with data for 2018.
Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female rising or falling in United States?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this United States 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 States. 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-states/

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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.