School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years) (both) in Kenya
Kenya: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years) (both) was 10.27 years in 2009. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Kenya, 1970–2009
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
Kenya recorded 10.27 years for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in 2009. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
The figure is up 5.4% on the previous year and up 25.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Kenya peaked at 10.27 years in 2009 and was at its lowest, 4.93 years, in 1970.
Kenya ranks 152nd of 183 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years) (both) in Kenya, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 4.93 years | — |
| 1971 | 5.09 years | +3.3% |
| 1972 | 5.4 years | +6.0% |
| 1973 | 5.63 years | +4.3% |
| 1974 | 7.77 years | +38.0% |
| 1976 | 7.92 years | +2.0% |
| 1977 | 7.9 years | -0.3% |
| 1978 | 7.76 years | -1.8% |
| 1979 | 8.98 years | +15.8% |
| 1980 | 9.21 years | +2.6% |
| 1981 | 8.93 years | -3.0% |
| 1983 | 9.05 years | +1.3% |
| 1984 | 8.87 years | -2.0% |
| 1985 | 9.09 years | +2.5% |
| 1987 | 9.12 years | +0.3% |
| 2000 | 8.19 years | -10.2% |
| 2001 | 8.32 years | +1.6% |
| 2002 | 8.1 years | -2.6% |
| 2004 | 9.22 years | +13.8% |
| 2005 | 9.24 years | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 9.74 years | +5.4% |
| 2009 | 10.27 years | +5.4% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 10.27 years is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 11.24 years, 91% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 10.27 years is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 10.73 years, 96% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years) (both) in Kenya changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | +38.0% | 5.63 years | 7.77 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6.82 years | 4.93 years | 8.98 years | 9 |
| 1980s | 9.04 years | 8.87 years | 9.21 years | 6 |
| 2000s | 9.01 years | 8.1 years | 10.27 years | 7 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More education data for Kenya
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 99.57 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 94.27 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 168,396 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 235,728 (2016)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.44 million (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.44 million (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.74 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 8.04 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.7181 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Kenya?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Kenya was 10.27 years in 2009, 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 Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 10.27 years in 2009.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.93 years in 1970.
- How does Kenya rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- Kenya ranks 152nd out of 183 countries with data for 2009.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 25.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya 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 — 22 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.