School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes was 10.6 years in 2013. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Zimbabwe, 1971–2013
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Zimbabwe is 10.6 years, measured in 2013.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.0% on the previous year and up 3.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Zimbabwe peaked at 11.83 years in 1986 and was at its lowest, 5.11 years, in 1979.
That places Zimbabwe 151st out of 186 countries with data for 2013, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 5.13 years | — |
| 1972 | 5.43 years | +5.8% |
| 1973 | 5.52 years | +1.7% |
| 1974 | 5.65 years | +2.3% |
| 1975 | 5.68 years | +0.6% |
| 1976 | 5.67 years | -0.3% |
| 1977 | 5.58 years | -1.6% |
| 1978 | 5.14 years | -7.9% |
| 1979 | 5.11 years | -0.5% |
| 1980 | 7.11 years | +39.2% |
| 1981 | 9.06 years | +27.4% |
| 1982 | 10.16 years | +12.1% |
| 1983 | 10.82 years | +6.5% |
| 1984 | 11.48 years | +6.1% |
| 1985 | 11.61 years | +1.2% |
| 1986 | 11.83 years | +1.9% |
| 1989 | 10.55 years | -10.8% |
| 1990 | 9.78 years | -7.4% |
| 1991 | 10.23 years | +4.6% |
| 1992 | 9.85 years | -3.7% |
| 1999 | 10.08 years | +2.4% |
| 2000 | 10.29 years | +2.0% |
| 2001 | 10.9 years | +6.0% |
| 2002 | 10.51 years | -3.6% |
| 2003 | 10.25 years | -2.4% |
| 2012 | 10.71 years | +4.4% |
| 2013 | 10.6 years | -1.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.44 years | 5.11 years | 5.68 years | 9 |
| 1980s | 10.33 years | 7.11 years | 11.83 years | 8 |
| 1990s | 9.98 years | 9.78 years | 10.23 years | 4 |
| 2000s | 10.49 years | 10.25 years | 10.9 years | 4 |
| 2010s | 10.65 years | 10.6 years | 10.71 years | 2 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
More education data for Zimbabwe
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 90,330 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 2 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 4 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 56.2% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 40.3% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 93.08 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary 93.1% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Zimbabwe?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Zimbabwe was 10.6 years in 2013, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 11.83 years in 1986.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.11 years in 1979.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- Zimbabwe ranks 151st out of 186 countries with data for 2013.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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 — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release