School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Europe & Central Asia
Europe & Central Asia: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes was 16.08 years in 2019. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Europe & Central Asia, 1970–2019
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2019, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Europe & Central Asia stood at 16.08 years. That is the highest value across all 50 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 9.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Europe & Central Asia peaked at 16.08 years in 2019 and was at its lowest, 11.7 years, in 1971.
That places Europe & Central Asia 7th out of 45 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 50 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Europe & Central Asia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 11.8 years | — |
| 1971 | 11.7 years | -0.8% |
| 1972 | 11.76 years | +0.5% |
| 1973 | 11.81 years | +0.4% |
| 1974 | 11.89 years | +0.7% |
| 1975 | 11.93 years | +0.3% |
| 1976 | 11.98 years | +0.4% |
| 1977 | 12.04 years | +0.5% |
| 1978 | 12.04 years | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 12.03 years | -0.1% |
| 1980 | 12.04 years | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 11.96 years | -0.6% |
| 1982 | 12.04 years | +0.7% |
| 1983 | 12.09 years | +0.4% |
| 1984 | 12.19 years | +0.9% |
| 1985 | 12.29 years | +0.9% |
| 1986 | 12.4 years | +0.9% |
| 1987 | 12.53 years | +1.0% |
| 1988 | 12.57 years | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 12.57 years | -0.1% |
| 1990 | 12.57 years | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 12.54 years | -0.3% |
| 1992 | 12.52 years | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 12.65 years | +1.0% |
| 1994 | 12.74 years | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 12.85 years | +0.9% |
| 1996 | 13.01 years | +1.3% |
| 1997 | 13.11 years | +0.8% |
| 1998 | 13.33 years | +1.6% |
| 1999 | 13.48 years | +1.1% |
| 2000 | 13.65 years | +1.2% |
| 2001 | 13.93 years | +2.1% |
| 2002 | 14.15 years | +1.5% |
| 2003 | 14.33 years | +1.3% |
| 2004 | 14.29 years | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 14.43 years | +1.0% |
| 2006 | 14.52 years | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 14.59 years | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 14.64 years | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 14.7 years | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 14.95 years | +1.7% |
| 2011 | 15.11 years | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 15.13 years | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 15.65 years | +3.4% |
| 2014 | 15.69 years | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 15.8 years | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 15.87 years | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 15.93 years | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 16.06 years | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 16.08 years | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 11.9 years | 11.7 years | 12.04 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 12.27 years | 11.96 years | 12.57 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.88 years | 12.52 years | 13.48 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.32 years | 13.65 years | 14.7 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.63 years | 14.95 years | 16.08 years | 10 |
Countries ranked near Europe & Central Asia
More education data for Europe & Central Asia
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 3.52 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 83.79 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 52.35 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.0527 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Population ages 0-14 17.2% (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0564 units per person (2024)
- Population ages 15-64 64.3% (2025)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Europe & Central Asia?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Europe & Central Asia was 16.08 years in 2019, 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 Europe & Central Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 16.08 years in 2019.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Europe & Central Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.7 years in 1971.
- How does Europe & Central Asia rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- Europe & Central Asia ranks 7th out of 45 groups with data for 2019.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Europe & Central Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Europe & Central Asia 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.
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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.