School life expectancy, primary, female (years) (life female years) in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: School life expectancy, primary, female (years) (life female years) was 4.58 years in 2023. ▼ Falling
School life expectancy, primary, female in Sri Lanka, 1970–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2023, school life expectancy, primary, female in Sri Lanka stood at 4.58 years.
That represents a change of down 1.7% on the previous year and down 5.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary, female in Sri Lanka peaked at 6.06 years in 1985 and was at its lowest, 4 years, in 1976.
Sri Lanka ranks 179th of 215 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 47 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary, female (years) (life female years) in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 5 years | — |
| 1971 | 5.28 years | +5.7% |
| 1975 | 4.02 years | -23.9% |
| 1976 | 4 years | -0.5% |
| 1977 | 4.22 years | +5.6% |
| 1978 | 5.32 years | +26.0% |
| 1980 | 5.79 years | +8.8% |
| 1981 | 5.96 years | +3.0% |
| 1982 | 5.99 years | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 5.98 years | -0.2% |
| 1984 | 6.03 years | +0.7% |
| 1985 | 6.06 years | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 6 years | -1.0% |
| 1987 | 5.23 years | -12.9% |
| 1988 | 5.26 years | +0.6% |
| 1989 | 5.34 years | +1.5% |
| 1990 | 5.42 years | +1.5% |
| 1991 | 5.59 years | +3.1% |
| 1992 | 5.64 years | +0.9% |
| 1993 | 5.75 years | +2.0% |
| 1994 | 5.77 years | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 5.9 years | +2.4% |
| 1996 | 5.52 years | -6.5% |
| 1998 | 5.31 years | -3.9% |
| 2001 | 5.11 years | -3.8% |
| 2002 | 5 years | -2.1% |
| 2003 | 4.84 years | -3.1% |
| 2004 | 4.75 years | -1.8% |
| 2005 | 4.69 years | -1.2% |
| 2006 | 4.69 years | -0.0% |
| 2007 | 4.7 years | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 4.7 years | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 4.63 years | -1.6% |
| 2010 | 4.86 years | +5.0% |
| 2011 | 4.81 years | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 4.84 years | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 4.84 years | -0.0% |
| 2014 | 4.85 years | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 4.85 years | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 4.84 years | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 4.81 years | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 4.79 years | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 4.78 years | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 4.78 years | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 4.78 years | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 4.66 years | -2.5% |
| 2023 | 4.58 years | -1.7% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 4.58 years is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 5.8 years, 79% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 4.58 years is below the median for South Asia, which is 5.93 years, 77% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School life expectancy, primary, female (years) (life female years) in Sri Lanka 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | +26.0% | 4.22 years | 5.32 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.64 years | 4 years | 5.32 years | 6 |
| 1980s | 5.76 years | 5.23 years | 6.06 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.61 years | 5.31 years | 5.9 years | 8 |
| 2000s | 4.79 years | 4.63 years | 5.11 years | 9 |
| 2010s | 4.83 years | 4.78 years | 4.86 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.7 years | 4.58 years | 4.78 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More education data for Sri Lanka
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 155,543 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 224,799 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 214,300 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.54 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.58 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.89 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0715 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary, female in Sri Lanka?
- School life expectancy, primary, female in Sri Lanka was 4.58 years in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary, female recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 6.06 years in 1985.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary, female recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 4 years in 1976.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for school life expectancy, primary, female?
- Sri Lanka ranks 179th out of 215 countries with data for 2023.
- Is school life expectancy, primary, female rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, primary, female (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