School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Least developed countries
Least developed countries: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes was 9.63 years in 2019. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Least developed countries, 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 Least developed countries stood at 9.63 years. That is the highest value across all 50 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 10.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Least developed countries peaked at 9.63 years in 2019 and was at its lowest, 3.85 years, in 1971.
That places Least developed countries 35th out of 43 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the bottom 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 Least developed countries, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 3.88 years | — |
| 1971 | 3.85 years | -0.7% |
| 1972 | 4.04 years | +4.7% |
| 1973 | 4.19 years | +3.9% |
| 1974 | 4.25 years | +1.3% |
| 1975 | 4.41 years | +3.8% |
| 1976 | 4.54 years | +2.9% |
| 1977 | 4.62 years | +1.7% |
| 1978 | 4.75 years | +2.9% |
| 1979 | 4.9 years | +3.3% |
| 1980 | 5.07 years | +3.5% |
| 1981 | 5.13 years | +1.2% |
| 1982 | 5.2 years | +1.4% |
| 1983 | 5.26 years | +1.1% |
| 1984 | 5.24 years | -0.3% |
| 1985 | 5.13 years | -2.1% |
| 1986 | 5.14 years | +0.2% |
| 1987 | 5.13 years | -0.1% |
| 1988 | 5.29 years | +3.1% |
| 1989 | 5.26 years | -0.7% |
| 1990 | 5.15 years | -2.0% |
| 1991 | 5.31 years | +3.1% |
| 1992 | 5.33 years | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 5.41 years | +1.4% |
| 1994 | 5.53 years | +2.3% |
| 1995 | 5.7 years | +3.2% |
| 1996 | 5.82 years | +2.0% |
| 1997 | 6.04 years | +3.9% |
| 1998 | 6.21 years | +2.8% |
| 1999 | 6.31 years | +1.6% |
| 2000 | 6.52 years | +3.3% |
| 2001 | 6.74 years | +3.4% |
| 2002 | 7.12 years | +5.6% |
| 2003 | 7.38 years | +3.6% |
| 2004 | 7.59 years | +2.8% |
| 2005 | 7.8 years | +2.8% |
| 2006 | 8.08 years | +3.5% |
| 2007 | 8.28 years | +2.5% |
| 2008 | 8.56 years | +3.4% |
| 2009 | 8.75 years | +2.3% |
| 2010 | 8.9 years | +1.7% |
| 2011 | 9.12 years | +2.5% |
| 2012 | 9.21 years | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 9.35 years | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 9.41 years | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 9.42 years | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 9.46 years | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 9.48 years | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 9.6 years | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 9.63 years | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.34 years | 3.85 years | 4.9 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.19 years | 5.07 years | 5.29 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.68 years | 5.15 years | 6.31 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.68 years | 6.52 years | 8.75 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.36 years | 8.9 years | 9.63 years | 10 |
Countries ranked near Least developed countries
More education data for Least developed countries
- Population ages 15-64 57.7% (2025)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 4.43 million (2024)
- Population ages 0-14 38.4% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 100.7% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 4.43 million (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, per capita 0.0037 units per person (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 99.3% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, male 102.0% (2024)
- Labor force, total 450.68 million (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Least developed countries?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Least developed countries was 9.63 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 Least developed countries?
- The highest recorded value was 9.63 years in 2019.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Least developed countries?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.85 years in 1971.
- How does Least developed countries rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- Least developed countries ranks 35th out of 43 groups with data for 2019.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Least developed countries?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Least developed countries 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.