School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years) (both) in SDG: World
SDG: World: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years) (both) was 12.71 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
12.71 years
Change on year
up 0.4%
Rank
106th
of 221 groups
All-time high
12.71 years
in 2024
All-time low
8.48 years
in 1971
Years of data
55
1970–2024
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in SDG: World, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2024, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in SDG: World stood at 12.71 years. That is the highest value across all 55 years on record.
The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 5.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in SDG: World peaked at 12.71 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 8.48 years, in 1971.
That places SDG: World 106th out of 221 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 55 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years) (both) in SDG: World, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 8.5 years | — |
| 1971 | 8.48 years | -0.2% |
| 1972 | 8.53 years | +0.5% |
| 1973 | 8.65 years | +1.4% |
| 1974 | 8.64 years | -0.1% |
| 1975 | 8.74 years | +1.2% |
| 1976 | 8.83 years | +1.0% |
| 1977 | 8.97 years | +1.6% |
| 1978 | 9.05 years | +0.8% |
| 1979 | 9.01 years | -0.4% |
| 1980 | 8.95 years | -0.6% |
| 1981 | 8.98 years | +0.3% |
| 1982 | 9 years | +0.3% |
| 1983 | 9.05 years | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 9.07 years | +0.3% |
| 1985 | 9.15 years | +0.8% |
| 1986 | 9.17 years | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 9.18 years | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 9.2 years | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 9.18 years | -0.2% |
| 1990 | 9.12 years | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 9.13 years | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 9.13 years | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 9.14 years | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 9.16 years | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 9.19 years | +0.3% |
| 1996 | 9.24 years | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 9.33 years | +0.9% |
| 1998 | 9.39 years | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 9.48 years | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 9.55 years | +0.8% |
| 2001 | 9.61 years | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 9.79 years | +1.9% |
| 2003 | 10.04 years | +2.6% |
| 2004 | 10.21 years | +1.7% |
| 2005 | 10.38 years | +1.7% |
| 2006 | 10.55 years | +1.6% |
| 2007 | 10.71 years | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 10.87 years | +1.4% |
| 2009 | 10.98 years | +1.1% |
| 2010 | 11.18 years | +1.8% |
| 2011 | 11.37 years | +1.7% |
| 2012 | 11.8 years | +3.8% |
| 2013 | 11.96 years | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 12.05 years | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 12.09 years | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 12.2 years | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 12.2 years | -0.0% |
| 2018 | 12.18 years | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 12.25 years | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 12.39 years | +1.1% |
| 2021 | 12.49 years | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 12.61 years | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 12.66 years | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 12.71 years | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 8.74 years | 8.48 years | 9.05 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 9.09 years | 8.95 years | 9.2 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.23 years | 9.12 years | 9.48 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.27 years | 9.55 years | 10.98 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.93 years | 11.18 years | 12.25 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.57 years | 12.39 years | 12.71 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near SDG: World
- 103 Anguilla 13.45 years compare
- 104 Cayman Islands 13.38 years compare
- 105 Cape Verde 13.31 years compare
- 106 Qatar 13.3 years compare
- 107 Jordan 13.27 years compare
- 108 China 13.2 years compare
- 109 Azerbaijan 13.12 years compare
More education data for SDG: World
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 651.68 million (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 25.09 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 314.66 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 106.27 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 1.22 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 100.30 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 34.10 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 0.5777 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 404.43 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), annual growth rate 1.66 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in SDG: World?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in SDG: World was 12.71 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in SDG: World?
- The highest recorded value was 12.71 years in 2024.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in SDG: World?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.48 years in 1971.
- How does SDG: World rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- SDG: World ranks 106th out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in SDG: World?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this SDG: World 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 — 55 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release