School life expectancy, primary, male (years) (male years) in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: School life expectancy, primary, male (years) (male years) was 5.31 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
5.31 years
Change on year
up 0.7%
World rank
151st
of 215 countries
All-time high
7.15 years
in 2020
All-time low
1.26 years
in 1971
Years of data
50
1971–2024
School life expectancy, primary, male in Ethiopia, 1971–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary, male in Ethiopia is 5.31 years, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.7% on the previous year and down 9.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary, male in Ethiopia peaked at 7.15 years in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1.26 years, in 1971.
That places Ethiopia 151st out of 215 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 50 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary, male (years) (male years) in Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 1.26 years | — |
| 1972 | 1.31 years | +4.4% |
| 1973 | 1.35 years | +2.7% |
| 1974 | 1.46 years | +8.7% |
| 1975 | 1.58 years | +7.7% |
| 1976 | 1.72 years | +9.2% |
| 1977 | 1.81 years | +5.0% |
| 1978 | 1.72 years | -5.0% |
| 1979 | 2.04 years | +18.8% |
| 1980 | 2.58 years | +26.6% |
| 1981 | 3 years | +16.4% |
| 1982 | 3.16 years | +5.3% |
| 1983 | 3.19 years | +0.8% |
| 1984 | 3.05 years | -4.5% |
| 1985 | 2.79 years | -8.5% |
| 1986 | 2.73 years | -2.2% |
| 1987 | 3.17 years | +16.1% |
| 1988 | 3.25 years | +2.6% |
| 1989 | 3.05 years | -6.0% |
| 1990 | 2.56 years | -16.1% |
| 1991 | 2.3 years | -10.2% |
| 1992 | 1.79 years | -22.1% |
| 1993 | 1.59 years | -11.4% |
| 1994 | 2.05 years | +29.4% |
| 1995 | 2.4 years | +17.1% |
| 1996 | 2.92 years | +21.6% |
| 1997 | 3.11 years | +6.4% |
| 1998 | 4.12 years | +32.3% |
| 1999 | 3.91 years | -5.1% |
| 2000 | 4.04 years | +3.5% |
| 2001 | 4.35 years | +7.8% |
| 2002 | 4.47 years | +2.6% |
| 2003 | 4.5 years | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 4.54 years | +1.0% |
| 2005 | 5.09 years | +12.1% |
| 2006 | 5.29 years | +4.0% |
| 2007 | 5.63 years | +6.4% |
| 2008 | 5.93 years | +5.4% |
| 2009 | 5.77 years | -2.7% |
| 2010 | 5.67 years | -1.7% |
| 2011 | 5.77 years | +1.7% |
| 2012 | 5.67 years | -1.7% |
| 2014 | 5.87 years | +3.4% |
| 2015 | 5.94 years | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 6.39 years | +7.5% |
| 2020 | 7.15 years | +11.9% |
| 2021 | 6.4 years | -10.4% |
| 2022 | 5.27 years | -17.6% |
| 2023 | 5.27 years | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 5.31 years | +0.7% |
Ethiopia compared with similar countries
- Ethiopia's 5.31 years is below the median for low income countries, which is 5.78 years, 92% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Ethiopia's 5.31 years is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 6.26 years, 85% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.58 years | 1.26 years | 2.04 years | 9 |
| 1980s | 3 years | 2.58 years | 3.25 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.68 years | 1.59 years | 4.12 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.96 years | 4.04 years | 5.93 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.89 years | 5.67 years | 6.39 years | 6 |
| 2020s | 5.88 years | 5.27 years | 7.15 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
- 148 Guadeloupe 5.35 years compare
- 149 Niue 5.35 years compare
- 150 Colombia 5.31 years compare
- 152 Montenegro 5.29 years compare
- 153 Algeria 5.29 years compare
- 154 Puerto Rico 5.27 years compare
More education data for Ethiopia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 272,545 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 900,151 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 2.32 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 2.16 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 5.03 million (2015)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 15.93 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.45 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1206 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary, male in Ethiopia?
- School life expectancy, primary, male in Ethiopia was 5.31 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary, male recorded in Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 7.15 years in 2020.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary, male recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.26 years in 1971.
- How does Ethiopia rank for school life expectancy, primary, male?
- Ethiopia ranks 151st out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, primary, male rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ethiopia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, primary, male (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 50 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release