School life expectancy, primary, male (years) (male years) in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: School life expectancy, primary, male (years) (male years) was 4.52 years in 2023. ▼ Falling
School life expectancy, primary, male in Sri Lanka, 1970–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary, male in Sri Lanka is 4.52 years, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 1.8% on the previous year and down 7.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary, male in Sri Lanka peaked at 6.31 years in 1985 and was at its lowest, 4.32 years, in 1976.
That places Sri Lanka 183rd out of 215 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 47 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary, male (years) (male years) in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 5.44 years | — |
| 1971 | 5.26 years | -3.3% |
| 1975 | 4.36 years | -17.3% |
| 1976 | 4.32 years | -0.9% |
| 1977 | 4.56 years | +5.6% |
| 1978 | 5.75 years | +26.2% |
| 1980 | 6.08 years | +5.8% |
| 1981 | 6.24 years | +2.5% |
| 1982 | 6.25 years | +0.2% |
| 1983 | 6.25 years | -0.1% |
| 1984 | 6.28 years | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 6.31 years | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 6.23 years | -1.3% |
| 1987 | 5.44 years | -12.7% |
| 1988 | 5.46 years | +0.3% |
| 1989 | 5.52 years | +1.2% |
| 1990 | 5.61 years | +1.7% |
| 1991 | 5.79 years | +3.1% |
| 1992 | 5.84 years | +0.8% |
| 1993 | 5.93 years | +1.6% |
| 1994 | 5.95 years | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 6.09 years | +2.3% |
| 1996 | 5.67 years | -6.9% |
| 1998 | 5.42 years | -4.4% |
| 2001 | 5.18 years | -4.5% |
| 2002 | 5.06 years | -2.3% |
| 2003 | 4.88 years | -3.5% |
| 2004 | 4.47 years | -8.4% |
| 2005 | 4.73 years | +5.7% |
| 2006 | 4.73 years | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 4.73 years | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 4.72 years | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 4.65 years | -1.6% |
| 2010 | 4.9 years | +5.3% |
| 2011 | 4.92 years | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 4.88 years | -0.8% |
| 2013 | 4.89 years | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 4.9 years | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 4.9 years | -0.0% |
| 2016 | 4.9 years | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 4.85 years | -1.0% |
| 2018 | 4.8 years | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 4.77 years | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 4.74 years | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 4.67 years | -1.6% |
| 2022 | 4.6 years | -1.4% |
| 2023 | 4.52 years | -1.8% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 4.52 years is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 5.8 years, 78% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 4.52 years is below the median for South Asia, which is 5.62 years, 80% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School life expectancy, primary, male (years) (male 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 | +26.2% | 4.56 years | 5.75 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.95 years | 4.32 years | 5.75 years | 6 |
| 1980s | 6.01 years | 5.44 years | 6.31 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.79 years | 5.42 years | 6.09 years | 8 |
| 2000s | 4.79 years | 4.47 years | 5.18 years | 9 |
| 2010s | 4.87 years | 4.77 years | 4.92 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.63 years | 4.52 years | 4.74 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, male in Sri Lanka?
- School life expectancy, primary, male in Sri Lanka was 4.52 years in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary, male recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 6.31 years in 1985.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary, male recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.32 years in 1976.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for school life expectancy, primary, male?
- Sri Lanka ranks 183rd out of 215 countries with data for 2023.
- Is school life expectancy, primary, male rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.6%. 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, male (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