School life expectancy, primary, female (years) (life female years) in Zambia
Zambia: School life expectancy, primary, female (years) (life female years) was 8.4 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary, female in Zambia, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary, female in Zambia is 8.4 years, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 41 years on record.
The figure is up 13.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary, female in Zambia peaked at 8.4 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 5.32 years, in 1970.
Zambia ranks 6th of 215 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 41 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary, female (years) (life female years) in Zambia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 5.32 years | — |
| 1971 | 5.44 years | +2.4% |
| 1972 | 5.64 years | +3.5% |
| 1973 | 5.67 years | +0.6% |
| 1974 | 5.82 years | +2.6% |
| 1975 | 5.74 years | -1.3% |
| 1976 | 5.91 years | +2.8% |
| 1977 | 5.95 years | +0.7% |
| 1978 | 5.96 years | +0.3% |
| 1979 | 5.98 years | +0.3% |
| 1980 | 6.06 years | +1.2% |
| 1981 | 6.05 years | -0.1% |
| 1982 | 6.11 years | +1.0% |
| 1983 | 6.29 years | +2.9% |
| 1984 | 6.43 years | +2.3% |
| 1985 | 6.46 years | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 6.62 years | +2.4% |
| 1988 | 6.51 years | -1.6% |
| 1994 | 6 years | -7.8% |
| 1995 | 5.86 years | -2.4% |
| 1996 | 5.61 years | -4.3% |
| 1998 | 5.6 years | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 5.44 years | -2.9% |
| 2000 | 5.45 years | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 5.44 years | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 5.64 years | +3.7% |
| 2004 | 7.09 years | +25.6% |
| 2005 | 7.87 years | +11.1% |
| 2006 | 8.08 years | +2.7% |
| 2007 | 8.13 years | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 8.25 years | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 7.86 years | -4.7% |
| 2010 | 7.9 years | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 7.89 years | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 7.95 years | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 7.52 years | -5.4% |
| 2014 | 7.43 years | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 7.18 years | -3.4% |
| 2016 | 6.97 years | -2.9% |
| 2017 | 7.11 years | +2.0% |
| 2024 | 8.4 years | +18.2% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 8.4 years is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5.99 years, 1.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 8.4 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 6.17 years, 1.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School life expectancy, primary, female (years) (life female years) in Zambia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | +25.6% | 5.64 years | 7.09 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.74 years | 5.32 years | 5.98 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.32 years | 6.05 years | 6.62 years | 8 |
| 1990s | 5.7 years | 5.44 years | 6 years | 5 |
| 2000s | 7.09 years | 5.44 years | 8.25 years | 9 |
| 2010s | 7.49 years | 6.97 years | 7.95 years | 8 |
| 2020s | 8.4 years | 8.4 years | 8.4 years | 1 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More education data for Zambia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 42,585 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 169,961 (2013)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.39 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.49 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.55 % change on previous year (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.2106 units per person (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 4.49 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary, female in Zambia?
- School life expectancy, primary, female in Zambia was 8.4 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary, female recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 8.4 years in 2024.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary, female recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.32 years in 1970.
- How does Zambia rank for school life expectancy, primary, female?
- Zambia ranks 6th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, primary, female rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.0%. 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, female (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 41 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release