School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years) (School both) in China
China: School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years) (School both) was 5.99 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
5.99 years
Change on year
up 0.5%
World rank
96th
of 218 countries
All-time high
6.56 years
in 1986
All-time low
5.32 years
in 1974
Years of data
49
1970–2024
School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in China, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2024, school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in China 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 peaked at 6.56 years in 1986 and was at its lowest, 5.32 years, in 1974.
That places China 96th out of 218 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.
School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years) (School both) in China, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 6.04 years | — |
| 1971 | 5.62 years | -6.9% |
| 1972 | 5.36 years | -4.6% |
| 1973 | 5.41 years | +1.0% |
| 1974 | 5.32 years | -1.7% |
| 1975 | 5.62 years | +5.7% |
| 1976 | 5.89 years | +4.8% |
| 1977 | 5.79 years | -1.8% |
| 1978 | 5.55 years | -4.1% |
| 1979 | 5.5 years | -0.9% |
| 1980 | 5.44 years | -1.0% |
| 1981 | 5.54 years | +1.8% |
| 1982 | 5.6 years | +1.0% |
| 1983 | 5.76 years | +2.9% |
| 1984 | 5.9 years | +2.5% |
| 1985 | 6.27 years | +6.2% |
| 1986 | 6.56 years | +4.6% |
| 1987 | 6.44 years | -1.8% |
| 1988 | 6.42 years | -0.2% |
| 1989 | 6.3 years | -1.9% |
| 1990 | 6.14 years | -2.5% |
| 1991 | 5.99 years | -2.4% |
| 1992 | 5.83 years | -2.7% |
| 1993 | 5.7 years | -2.4% |
| 1994 | 5.61 years | -1.6% |
| 1995 | 5.6 years | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 5.61 years | +0.2% |
| 1997 | 5.59 years | -0.3% |
| 1998 | 5.5 years | -1.8% |
| 2001 | 5.95 years | +8.2% |
| 2006 | 6.27 years | +5.3% |
| 2007 | 6.29 years | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 6.32 years | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 6.29 years | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 6.23 years | -1.1% |
| 2011 | 6.19 years | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 6.19 years | -0.0% |
| 2013 | 6.17 years | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 5.89 years | -4.4% |
| 2015 | 5.86 years | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 5.88 years | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 5.91 years | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 5.92 years | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 5.92 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 5.96 years | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 5.97 years | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 6.01 years | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 5.96 years | -0.9% |
| 2024 | 5.99 years | +0.5% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 5.99 years is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 5.84 years, 1.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- China's 5.99 years is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 6.02 years, 100% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
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
More education data for China
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.41 million (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 7,020 (2021)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 21.58 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 19.36 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 97.98 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 108.57 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9587 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0771 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in China?
- School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in China 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?
- The highest recorded value was 6.56 years in 1986.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.32 years in 1974.
- How does China rank for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes?
- China ranks 96th out of 218 countries with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, primary, both sexes rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China 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 · JSON — 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release