School life expectancy, primary and secondary, male in OECD members

OECD members: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, male was 12.54 years in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
12.54 years
Change on year
down 0.0%
Rank
3rd
of 43 groups
All-time high
12.6 years
in 2017
All-time low
10.36 years
in 1970
Years of data
50
1970–2019

School life expectancy, primary and secondary, male in OECD members, 1970–2019

051015197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.

Analysis

The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, male in OECD members is 12.54 years, measured in 2019.

That represents a change of up 3.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, male in OECD members peaked at 12.6 years in 2017 and was at its lowest, 10.36 years, in 1970.

OECD members ranks 3rd of 43 groups on this measure, 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, male in OECD members, year by year

Annual values for School life expectancy, primary and secondary, male (years) in OECD members, 1970 to 2019.
Year years Change
1970 10.36 years
1971 10.37 years +0.1%
1972 10.41 years +0.4%
1973 10.43 years +0.2%
1974 10.47 years +0.3%
1975 10.41 years -0.5%
1976 10.45 years +0.4%
1977 10.48 years +0.2%
1978 10.45 years -0.2%
1979 10.45 years -0.0%
1980 10.7 years +2.4%
1981 10.71 years +0.0%
1982 10.83 years +1.2%
1983 10.87 years +0.3%
1984 10.95 years +0.7%
1985 10.95 years -0.0%
1986 11.05 years +0.9%
1987 11.1 years +0.5%
1988 11.13 years +0.3%
1989 11.16 years +0.2%
1990 11.12 years -0.3%
1991 11.16 years +0.4%
1992 11.26 years +0.8%
1993 11.44 years +1.6%
1994 11.56 years +1.1%
1995 11.6 years +0.3%
1996 11.68 years +0.7%
1997 11.69 years +0.1%
1998 11.7 years +0.1%
1999 11.71 years +0.1%
2000 11.76 years +0.4%
2001 11.83 years +0.6%
2002 11.88 years +0.5%
2003 11.95 years +0.5%
2004 11.92 years -0.2%
2005 11.98 years +0.4%
2006 12 years +0.2%
2007 12.05 years +0.4%
2008 12.07 years +0.2%
2009 12.08 years +0.1%
2010 12.13 years +0.4%
2011 12.15 years +0.2%
2012 12.14 years -0.1%
2013 12.43 years +2.3%
2014 12.46 years +0.3%
2015 12.5 years +0.3%
2016 12.54 years +0.4%
2017 12.6 years +0.4%
2018 12.55 years -0.4%
2019 12.54 years -0.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 10.43 years 10.36 years 10.48 years 10
1980s 10.94 years 10.7 years 11.16 years 10
1990s 11.49 years 11.12 years 11.71 years 10
2000s 11.95 years 11.76 years 12.08 years 10
2010s 12.4 years 12.13 years 12.6 years 10

Countries ranked near OECD members

  1. 1 Sweden 15.97 years compare
  2. 2 Ireland 15.39 years compare
  3. 3 Iceland 15.13 years compare
  4. 4 Australia 14.9 years compare
  5. 5 Belgium 14.85 years compare
  6. 6 Denmark 14.66 years compare

See the full ranking of 238 places →

More education data for OECD members

All data for OECD members →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, male in OECD members?
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, male in OECD members was 12.54 years in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, male recorded in OECD members?
The highest recorded value was 12.6 years in 2017.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, male recorded in OECD members?
The lowest recorded value was 10.36 years in 1970.
How does OECD members rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, male?
OECD members ranks 3rd out of 43 groups with data for 2019.
Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, male rising or falling in OECD members?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.8%. 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, male (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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School life expectancy, primary and secondary, male in OECD members. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 26 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-primary-and-secondary-male-years/oecd-members/

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About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, male (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.