School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years) (both) in China
China: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years) (both) was 12.43 years in 2010. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in China, 1970–2010
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2010, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in China stood at 12.43 years. That is the highest value across all 30 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.6% on the previous year and up 25.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in China peaked at 12.43 years in 2010 and was at its lowest, 6.46 years, in 1970.
That places China 109th out of 183 countries with data for 2010, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 30 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years) (both) in China, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 6.46 years | — |
| 1973 | 7.82 years | +21.0% |
| 1974 | 7.88 years | +0.8% |
| 1975 | 8.03 years | +2.0% |
| 1976 | 8.36 years | +4.1% |
| 1977 | 8.72 years | +4.3% |
| 1978 | 8.8 years | +1.0% |
| 1979 | 8.5 years | -3.4% |
| 1980 | 8.14 years | -4.3% |
| 1981 | 7.99 years | -1.8% |
| 1984 | 7.46 years | -6.6% |
| 1985 | 7.82 years | +4.7% |
| 1986 | 8.18 years | +4.6% |
| 1987 | 8.36 years | +2.2% |
| 1988 | 8.55 years | +2.2% |
| 1989 | 8.61 years | +0.7% |
| 1990 | 8.63 years | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 8.67 years | +0.5% |
| 1992 | 8.77 years | +1.2% |
| 1993 | 8.81 years | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 8.81 years | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 8.95 years | +1.6% |
| 1996 | 9.08 years | +1.5% |
| 1997 | 9.12 years | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 9.88 years | +8.3% |
| 2006 | 11.4 years | +15.3% |
| 2007 | 11.72 years | +2.9% |
| 2008 | 11.99 years | +2.3% |
| 2009 | 12.23 years | +2.0% |
| 2010 | 12.43 years | +1.6% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 12.43 years is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 13.93 years, 89% of the median. (51 countries reporting)
- China's 12.43 years is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 13.38 years, 93% of the median. (24 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 8.07 years | 6.46 years | 8.8 years | 8 |
| 1980s | 8.14 years | 7.46 years | 8.61 years | 8 |
| 1990s | 8.86 years | 8.63 years | 9.12 years | 8 |
| 2000s | 11.45 years | 9.88 years | 12.23 years | 5 |
| 2010s | 12.43 years | 12.43 years | 12.43 years | 1 |
Countries ranked near China
More education data for China
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 93.37 (1997)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 93.32 (1997)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.41 million (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 7,020 (2021)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 21.58 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 19.36 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 97.98 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 108.57 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9587 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in China?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in China was 12.43 years in 2010, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 12.43 years in 2010.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.46 years in 1970.
- How does China rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- China ranks 109th out of 183 countries with data for 2010.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 25.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 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 — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Expected years of schooling is the number of years a child of school entrance age is expected to spend at school, or university, including years spent on repetition. It is the sum of the age-specific enrolment ratios for primary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary and tertiary education.