School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years) (School both) in Kenya
Kenya: School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years) (School both) was 5.9 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Kenya, 1970–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Kenya recorded 5.9 years for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.7% on the previous year and down 15.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Kenya peaked at 7.09 years in 1983 and was at its lowest, 3.62 years, in 1970.
Kenya ranks 105th of 218 countries on this measure, 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 Kenya, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 3.62 years | — |
| 1971 | 3.7 years | +2.4% |
| 1972 | 3.91 years | +5.7% |
| 1973 | 4.07 years | +4.1% |
| 1974 | 6.02 years | +47.7% |
| 1975 | 6.17 years | +2.6% |
| 1976 | 5.95 years | -3.6% |
| 1977 | 5.93 years | -0.2% |
| 1978 | 5.73 years | -3.4% |
| 1979 | 6.94 years | +20.9% |
| 1980 | 7.04 years | +1.5% |
| 1981 | 6.9 years | -1.9% |
| 1982 | 7.08 years | +2.5% |
| 1983 | 7.09 years | +0.3% |
| 1984 | 6.87 years | -3.2% |
| 1985 | 6.59 years | -4.1% |
| 1986 | 6.59 years | +0.1% |
| 1987 | 6.58 years | -0.2% |
| 1988 | 6.48 years | -1.6% |
| 1989 | 6.53 years | +0.8% |
| 1990 | 6.32 years | -3.3% |
| 1991 | 6.18 years | -2.2% |
| 1992 | 6.09 years | -1.5% |
| 1993 | 6.02 years | -1.1% |
| 1994 | 5.78 years | -4.1% |
| 1995 | 5.6 years | -3.1% |
| 1998 | 5.58 years | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 5.64 years | +1.1% |
| 2000 | 5.83 years | +3.4% |
| 2001 | 5.84 years | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 5.5 years | -5.8% |
| 2003 | 6.4 years | +16.3% |
| 2004 | 6.41 years | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 6.44 years | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 6.31 years | -2.0% |
| 2007 | 6.69 years | +6.0% |
| 2008 | 6.72 years | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 6.79 years | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 7 years | +3.1% |
| 2014 | 6.43 years | -8.2% |
| 2015 | 6.29 years | -2.2% |
| 2016 | 6.25 years | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 6.12 years | -2.1% |
| 2018 | 5.99 years | -2.1% |
| 2019 | 4.65 years | -22.3% |
| 2020 | 5.52 years | +18.6% |
| 2021 | 5.7 years | +3.2% |
| 2022 | 5.94 years | +4.2% |
| 2023 | 5.9 years | -0.7% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 5.9 years is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 6.02 years, 98% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 5.9 years is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 6.13 years, 96% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years) (School both) in Kenya changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | +47.7% | 4.07 years | 6.02 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.21 years | 3.62 years | 6.94 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.78 years | 6.48 years | 7.09 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.9 years | 5.58 years | 6.32 years | 8 |
| 2000s | 6.29 years | 5.5 years | 6.79 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.1 years | 4.65 years | 7 years | 7 |
| 2020s | 5.76 years | 5.52 years | 5.94 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More education data for Kenya
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 168,396 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 235,728 (2016)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.44 million (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.44 million (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.74 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 8.04 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.7181 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1453 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Kenya?
- School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Kenya was 5.9 years in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 7.09 years in 1983.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.62 years in 1970.
- How does Kenya rank for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes?
- Kenya ranks 105th out of 218 countries with data for 2023.
- Is school life expectancy, primary, both sexes rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya 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