School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Latin America & Caribbean
Latin America & Caribbean: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes was 14.91 years in 2019. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Latin America & Caribbean, 1970–2019
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Latin America & Caribbean is 14.91 years, measured in 2019. That is the highest value across all 50 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 9.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 14.91 years in 2019 and was at its lowest, 10.46 years, in 1970.
Latin America & Caribbean ranks 12th of 45 groups on this measure, 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 Latin America & Caribbean, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 10.46 years | — |
| 1971 | 10.48 years | +0.3% |
| 1972 | 10.56 years | +0.8% |
| 1973 | 10.73 years | +1.6% |
| 1974 | 10.85 years | +1.2% |
| 1975 | 10.96 years | +1.0% |
| 1976 | 11.14 years | +1.6% |
| 1977 | 11.36 years | +1.9% |
| 1978 | 11.43 years | +0.6% |
| 1979 | 11.58 years | +1.4% |
| 1980 | 11.71 years | +1.1% |
| 1981 | 11.84 years | +1.1% |
| 1982 | 11.93 years | +0.8% |
| 1983 | 11.98 years | +0.4% |
| 1984 | 12.07 years | +0.8% |
| 1985 | 12.18 years | +0.9% |
| 1986 | 12.22 years | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 12.23 years | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 12.22 years | -0.0% |
| 1989 | 12.18 years | -0.4% |
| 1990 | 12.1 years | -0.6% |
| 1991 | 12.12 years | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 12.17 years | +0.3% |
| 1993 | 12.15 years | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 12.15 years | -0.0% |
| 1995 | 12.21 years | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 12.34 years | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 12.43 years | +0.8% |
| 1998 | 12.67 years | +1.9% |
| 1999 | 12.77 years | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 12.92 years | +1.2% |
| 2001 | 13 years | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 13.14 years | +1.1% |
| 2003 | 13.01 years | -1.0% |
| 2004 | 13.07 years | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 13.16 years | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 13.22 years | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 13.31 years | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 13.56 years | +1.9% |
| 2009 | 13.67 years | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 13.8 years | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 13.89 years | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 13.9 years | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 14.41 years | +3.7% |
| 2014 | 14.49 years | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 14.55 years | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 14.7 years | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 14.73 years | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 14.84 years | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 14.91 years | +0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 10.95 years | 10.46 years | 11.58 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 12.05 years | 11.71 years | 12.23 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.31 years | 12.1 years | 12.77 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 13.21 years | 12.92 years | 13.67 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.42 years | 13.8 years | 14.91 years | 10 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean
More education data for Latin America & Caribbean
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 3.34 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 63.30 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 61.44 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.1923 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0928 units per person (2024)
- Population ages 15-64 67.7% (2025)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 22.1% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Latin America & Caribbean?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Latin America & Caribbean was 14.91 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 Latin America & Caribbean?
- The highest recorded value was 14.91 years in 2019.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.46 years in 1970.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- Latin America & Caribbean ranks 12th out of 45 groups with data for 2019.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean 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.