School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in China (People's Republic of)
China (People's Republic of): School life expectancy, primary, both sexes was 5.99 years in 2024. β² Rising
School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in China (People's Republic of), 1970β2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2024, school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in China (People's Republic of) stood at 5.99 years.
That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 1.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in China (People's Republic of) peaked at 6.56 years in 1986 and was at its lowest, 5.32 years, in 1974.
That places China (People's Republic of) 94th out of 215 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 49 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.61 years | 5.32 years | 6.04 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.02 years | 5.44 years | 6.56 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.73 years | 5.5 years | 6.14 years | 9 |
| 2000s | 6.22 years | 5.95 years | 6.32 years | 5 |
| 2010s | 6.01 years | 5.86 years | 6.23 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.98 years | 5.96 years | 6.01 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near China (People's Republic of)
More education data for China (People's Republic of)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 69.7% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 15.4% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 99.6% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 6.74 million (2024)
- Fertility rate vs mean years of schooling 1.01 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 100.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in China (People's Republic of)?
- School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in China (People's Republic of) was 5.99 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in China (People's Republic of)?
- The highest recorded value was 6.56 years in 1986.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in China (People's Republic of)?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.32 years in 1974.
- How does China (People's Republic of) rank for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes?
- China (People's Republic of) ranks 94th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, primary, both sexes rising or falling in China (People's Republic of)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China (People's Republic of) data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV Β· JSON β 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release