School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Zambia
Zambia: School life expectancy, primary, both sexes was 8.22 years in 2024. β² Rising
School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Zambia, 1970β2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Zambia recorded 8.22 years for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 9.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Zambia peaked at 8.49 years in 2008 and was at its lowest, 5.74 years, in 2001.
Zambia ranks 8th of 212 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6.36 years | 6 years | 6.55 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.75 years | 6.5 years | 7.05 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.21 years | 5.77 years | 6.67 years | 7 |
| 2000s | 7.37 years | 5.74 years | 8.49 years | 9 |
| 2010s | 7.56 years | 6.97 years | 8.04 years | 8 |
| 2020s | 8.22 years | 8.22 years | 8.22 years | 1 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 5 St. Kitts and Nevis 8.59 years compare
- 5 Saint Helena 5.86 years compare
- 6 Mozambique, Republic of 8.56 years compare
- 6 Tokelau 3.39 years compare
- 7 Malawi 8.39 years compare
- 9 Eswatini 8.16 years compare
- 10 Antigua and Barbuda 7.9 years compare
- 11 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 7.87 years compare
More education data for Zambia
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 116,859 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 4 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 57.0% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 41.0% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 14 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 115.6% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, per capita 0.0055 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Zambia?
- School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Zambia was 8.22 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 8.49 years in 2008.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.74 years in 2001.
- How does Zambia rank for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes?
- Zambia ranks 8th out of 212 countries with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, primary, both sexes rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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 45 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release