School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes was 17.74 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 2000–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland recorded 17.74 years for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.4% on the previous year and up 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland peaked at 17.8 years in 2022 and was at its lowest, 15.71 years, in 2012.
That places United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 20th out of 186 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 16 years | — |
| 2001 | 16.03 years | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 16.13 years | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 16.11 years | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 16.55 years | +2.8% |
| 2005 | 16.61 years | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 16.03 years | -3.5% |
| 2007 | 15.9 years | -0.8% |
| 2008 | 16.05 years | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 16.22 years | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 16.46 years | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 15.78 years | -4.1% |
| 2012 | 15.71 years | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 17.68 years | +12.6% |
| 2014 | 17.52 years | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 17.34 years | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 17.48 years | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 17.25 years | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 17.33 years | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 17.39 years | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 17.68 years | +1.7% |
| 2022 | 17.8 years | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 17.74 years | -0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 16.16 years | 15.9 years | 16.61 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.95 years | 15.71 years | 17.68 years | 9 |
| 2020s | 17.65 years | 17.39 years | 17.8 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
More education data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 790,556 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.40 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.86 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.0111 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.071 units per person (2023)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 4.86 million (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth -0.0111 % change on previous year (2023)
All data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland →
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was 17.74 years in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 17.8 years in 2022.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.71 years in 2012.
- How does United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 20th out of 186 countries with data for 2023.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 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 — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release