School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years) (School both) in Uganda
Uganda: School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years) (School both) was 7.44 years in 2017. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Uganda, 1970–2017
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Uganda recorded 7.44 years for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in 2017.
That represents a change of down 1.3% on the previous year and down 14.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Uganda peaked at 9.99 years in 2003 and was at its lowest, 2.58 years, in 1970.
Uganda ranks 19th of 218 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 47 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years) (School both) in Uganda, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 2.58 years | — |
| 1971 | 2.73 years | +5.7% |
| 1972 | 2.61 years | -4.1% |
| 1973 | 2.64 years | +1.0% |
| 1974 | 2.76 years | +4.6% |
| 1975 | 2.97 years | +7.3% |
| 1976 | 3.06 years | +3.2% |
| 1977 | 3.26 years | +6.4% |
| 1978 | 3.35 years | +2.8% |
| 1979 | 3.49 years | +4.2% |
| 1980 | 3.4 years | -2.5% |
| 1981 | 3.77 years | +11.0% |
| 1982 | 4.27 years | +13.2% |
| 1983 | 4.2 years | -1.7% |
| 1984 | 4.58 years | +9.1% |
| 1985 | 4.91 years | +7.3% |
| 1986 | 5.15 years | +4.8% |
| 1987 | 5.11 years | -0.7% |
| 1988 | 5.21 years | +2.0% |
| 1989 | 4.97 years | -4.7% |
| 1990 | 5.04 years | +1.4% |
| 1991 | 5.09 years | +1.1% |
| 1992 | 4.59 years | -9.9% |
| 1993 | 4.91 years | +7.1% |
| 1994 | 4.92 years | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 4.92 years | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 4.98 years | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 8.26 years | +65.8% |
| 1998 | 8.7 years | +5.3% |
| 1999 | 9.06 years | +4.2% |
| 2000 | 9.58 years | +5.7% |
| 2001 | 9.7 years | +1.2% |
| 2002 | 9.96 years | +2.7% |
| 2003 | 9.99 years | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 9.34 years | -6.5% |
| 2005 | 8.86 years | -5.2% |
| 2006 | 8.75 years | -1.2% |
| 2007 | 8.68 years | -0.8% |
| 2008 | 8.89 years | +2.4% |
| 2009 | 8.98 years | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 8.78 years | -2.2% |
| 2011 | 8.19 years | -6.7% |
| 2012 | 8.18 years | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 8.03 years | -1.8% |
| 2015 | 7.37 years | -8.2% |
| 2016 | 7.54 years | +2.3% |
| 2017 | 7.44 years | -1.3% |
Uganda compared with similar countries
- Uganda's 7.44 years is above the median for low income countries, which is 5.81 years, 1.3× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Uganda's 7.44 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 6.13 years, 1.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years) (School both) in Uganda 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | +65.8% | 4.98 years | 8.26 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.94 years | 2.58 years | 3.49 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.56 years | 3.4 years | 5.21 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.05 years | 4.59 years | 9.06 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.27 years | 8.68 years | 9.99 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.93 years | 7.37 years | 8.78 years | 7 |
Countries ranked near Uganda
- 16 Botswana 7.68 years compare
- 17 Montserrat 7.57 years compare
- 18 United States Virgin Islands 7.45 years compare
- 20 Turks and Caicos Islands 7.41 years compare
- 21 Papua New Guinea 7.39 years compare
- 22 East Timor 7.22 years compare
More education data for Uganda
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 63,957 (2014)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 778,349 (2017)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 301,523 (2017)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 307,450 (2017)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.03 million (2007)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 8.84 million (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.13 % change on previous year (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.22 units per person (2017)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Uganda?
- School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Uganda was 7.44 years in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in Uganda?
- The highest recorded value was 9.99 years in 2003.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in Uganda?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.58 years in 1970.
- How does Uganda rank for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes?
- Uganda ranks 19th out of 218 countries with data for 2017.
- Is school life expectancy, primary, both sexes rising or falling in Uganda?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Uganda 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 — 47 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release