School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Sweden
Sweden: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes was 18.58 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Sweden, 2001–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2024, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Sweden stood at 18.58 years.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 2.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Sweden peaked at 19.04 years in 2021 and was at its lowest, 15.8 years, in 2009.
Sweden ranks 12th of 186 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Sweden, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 18.68 years | — |
| 2002 | 18.56 years | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 18.56 years | -0.0% |
| 2004 | 16.02 years | -13.7% |
| 2005 | 16 years | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 15.96 years | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 15.81 years | -0.9% |
| 2008 | 15.8 years | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 15.8 years | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 15.99 years | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 15.87 years | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 15.91 years | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 18.18 years | +14.3% |
| 2014 | 18.09 years | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 18.32 years | +1.3% |
| 2016 | 18.42 years | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 18.86 years | +2.4% |
| 2018 | 18.9 years | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 18.52 years | -2.0% |
| 2020 | 18.65 years | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 19.04 years | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 18.99 years | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 18.54 years | -2.4% |
| 2024 | 18.58 years | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 16.8 years | 15.8 years | 18.68 years | 9 |
| 2010s | 17.71 years | 15.87 years | 18.9 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.76 years | 18.54 years | 19.04 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sweden
More education data for Sweden
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,023 tertiary education (2024)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 71,551 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 4 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 62.4% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 16.7% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Sweden?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Sweden was 18.58 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 19.04 years in 2021.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.8 years in 2009.
- How does Sweden rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- Sweden ranks 12th out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sweden 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 — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release