School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in UNICEF: World
UNICEF: World: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes was 12.7 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
12.7 years
Change on year
up 0.4%
Rank
110th
of 221 groups
All-time high
12.7 years
in 2024
All-time low
8.47 years
in 1971
Years of data
55
1970–2024
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in UNICEF: World, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
UNICEF: World recorded 12.7 years for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in 2024. 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 UNICEF: World peaked at 12.7 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 8.47 years, in 1971.
That places UNICEF: World 110th 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 in UNICEF: World, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 8.49 years | — |
| 1971 | 8.47 years | -0.2% |
| 1972 | 8.52 years | +0.5% |
| 1973 | 8.64 years | +1.4% |
| 1974 | 8.63 years | -0.1% |
| 1975 | 8.73 years | +1.2% |
| 1976 | 8.82 years | +1.0% |
| 1977 | 8.96 years | +1.6% |
| 1978 | 9.04 years | +0.8% |
| 1979 | 9 years | -0.4% |
| 1980 | 8.95 years | -0.6% |
| 1981 | 8.97 years | +0.3% |
| 1982 | 8.99 years | +0.3% |
| 1983 | 9.04 years | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 9.06 years | +0.3% |
| 1985 | 9.14 years | +0.8% |
| 1986 | 9.16 years | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 9.17 years | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 9.19 years | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 9.17 years | -0.2% |
| 1990 | 9.11 years | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 9.13 years | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 9.12 years | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 9.13 years | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 9.15 years | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 9.18 years | +0.3% |
| 1996 | 9.24 years | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 9.32 years | +0.9% |
| 1998 | 9.38 years | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 9.47 years | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 9.54 years | +0.8% |
| 2001 | 9.6 years | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 9.78 years | +1.9% |
| 2003 | 10.03 years | +2.6% |
| 2004 | 10.21 years | +1.7% |
| 2005 | 10.38 years | +1.7% |
| 2006 | 10.54 years | +1.6% |
| 2007 | 10.71 years | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 10.86 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 | 12.38 years | +1.1% |
| 2021 | 12.49 years | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 12.61 years | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 12.66 years | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 12.7 years | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 8.73 years | 8.47 years | 9.04 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 9.09 years | 8.95 years | 9.19 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.22 years | 9.11 years | 9.47 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.26 years | 9.54 years | 10.98 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.93 years | 11.18 years | 12.25 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.57 years | 12.38 years | 12.7 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near UNICEF: World
More education data for UNICEF: World
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 1.35 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) 1.56 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 129.28 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 1.15 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 138.78 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 10.49 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 23.55 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 268.06 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual -0.3082 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 206.38 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in UNICEF: World?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in UNICEF: World was 12.7 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in UNICEF: World?
- The highest recorded value was 12.7 years in 2024.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in UNICEF: World?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.47 years in 1971.
- How does UNICEF: World rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- UNICEF: World ranks 110th out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in UNICEF: World?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this UNICEF: 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