School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes was 17.02 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Saudi Arabia, 1979–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2024, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Saudi Arabia stood at 17.02 years. That is the highest value across all 14 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 18.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Saudi Arabia peaked at 17.02 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 9.13 years, in 1979.
That places Saudi Arabia 31st out of 186 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 9.13 years | — |
| 2005 | 13.31 years | +45.9% |
| 2007 | 13.87 years | +4.2% |
| 2009 | 14.43 years | +4.1% |
| 2013 | 13.6 years | -5.8% |
| 2014 | 14.4 years | +5.8% |
| 2016 | 15.14 years | +5.2% |
| 2017 | 15.73 years | +3.9% |
| 2018 | 15.86 years | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 15.98 years | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 15.76 years | -1.4% |
| 2021 | 15.77 years | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 16.95 years | +7.5% |
| 2024 | 17.02 years | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 9.13 years | 9.13 years | 9.13 years | 1 |
| 2000s | 13.87 years | 13.31 years | 14.43 years | 3 |
| 2010s | 15.12 years | 13.6 years | 15.98 years | 6 |
| 2020s | 16.38 years | 15.76 years | 17.02 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More education data for Saudi Arabia
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.71 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 18.25 % change on previous year (2022)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 430,399 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 77.4 % change on previous year (2022)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 2.01 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) -0.0795 % change on previous year (2022)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 143,804 (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 100,848 (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 944,740 (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 4.4 % change on previous year (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Saudi Arabia?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Saudi Arabia was 17.02 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 17.02 years in 2024.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.13 years in 1979.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 31st out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release