School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in UNICEF: All Unicef Countries
UNICEF: All Unicef Countries: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes was 12.35 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
12.35 years
Change on year
up 0.3%
Rank
116th
of 221 groups
All-time high
12.35 years
in 2024
All-time low
7.61 years
in 1971
Years of data
55
1970–2024
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in UNICEF: All Unicef Countries, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2024, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in UNICEF: All Unicef Countries stood at 12.35 years. That is the highest value across all 55 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 6.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in UNICEF: All Unicef Countries peaked at 12.35 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 7.61 years, in 1971.
UNICEF: All Unicef Countries ranks 116th of 221 groups on this measure, 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 in UNICEF: All Unicef Countries, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 7.63 years | — |
| 1971 | 7.61 years | -0.2% |
| 1972 | 7.66 years | +0.7% |
| 1973 | 7.79 years | +1.7% |
| 1974 | 7.82 years | +0.4% |
| 1975 | 7.94 years | +1.5% |
| 1976 | 8.05 years | +1.4% |
| 1977 | 8.2 years | +1.9% |
| 1978 | 8.29 years | +1.0% |
| 1979 | 8.24 years | -0.5% |
| 1980 | 8.18 years | -0.8% |
| 1981 | 8.19 years | +0.2% |
| 1982 | 8.22 years | +0.3% |
| 1983 | 8.27 years | +0.6% |
| 1984 | 8.3 years | +0.4% |
| 1985 | 8.4 years | +1.2% |
| 1986 | 8.44 years | +0.4% |
| 1987 | 8.46 years | +0.3% |
| 1988 | 8.51 years | +0.5% |
| 1989 | 8.48 years | -0.4% |
| 1990 | 8.42 years | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 8.45 years | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 8.45 years | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 8.48 years | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 8.5 years | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 8.54 years | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 8.61 years | +0.8% |
| 1997 | 8.68 years | +0.8% |
| 1998 | 8.74 years | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 8.84 years | +1.1% |
| 2000 | 8.92 years | +0.9% |
| 2001 | 8.98 years | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 9.17 years | +2.1% |
| 2003 | 9.44 years | +3.0% |
| 2004 | 9.63 years | +2.0% |
| 2005 | 9.81 years | +1.8% |
| 2006 | 10 years | +1.9% |
| 2007 | 10.17 years | +1.8% |
| 2008 | 10.34 years | +1.7% |
| 2009 | 10.46 years | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 10.66 years | +1.9% |
| 2011 | 10.87 years | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 11.34 years | +4.3% |
| 2013 | 11.5 years | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 11.61 years | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 11.66 years | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 11.77 years | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 11.78 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 11.78 years | -0.0% |
| 2019 | 11.85 years | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 11.99 years | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 12.1 years | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 12.25 years | +1.2% |
| 2023 | 12.31 years | +0.5% |
| 2024 | 12.35 years | +0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 7.92 years | 7.61 years | 8.29 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 8.34 years | 8.18 years | 8.51 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.57 years | 8.42 years | 8.84 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.69 years | 8.92 years | 10.46 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.48 years | 10.66 years | 11.85 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.2 years | 11.99 years | 12.35 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near UNICEF: All Unicef Countries
More education data for UNICEF: All Unicef Countries
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 29.12 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 0.4689 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 294.84 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 0.8422 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 274.67 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 1.48 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 569.51 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 371.32 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.35 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 178.96 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in UNICEF: All Unicef Countries?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in UNICEF: All Unicef Countries was 12.35 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in UNICEF: All Unicef Countries?
- The highest recorded value was 12.35 years in 2024.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in UNICEF: All Unicef Countries?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.61 years in 1971.
- How does UNICEF: All Unicef Countries rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- UNICEF: All Unicef Countries ranks 116th out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in UNICEF: All Unicef Countries?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this UNICEF: All Unicef Countries 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
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release