School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Low & middle income
Low & middle income: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes was 11.9 years in 2019. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Low & middle income, 1970–2019
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
Low & middle income recorded 11.9 years for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in 2019. That is the highest value across all 50 years on record.
The figure is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 10.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Low & middle income peaked at 11.9 years in 2019 and was at its lowest, 6.77 years, in 1970.
Low & middle income ranks 30th of 45 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 50 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Low & middle income, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 6.77 years | — |
| 1971 | 6.88 years | +1.5% |
| 1972 | 7.04 years | +2.4% |
| 1973 | 7.28 years | +3.4% |
| 1974 | 7.33 years | +0.7% |
| 1975 | 7.45 years | +1.6% |
| 1976 | 7.6 years | +2.0% |
| 1977 | 7.81 years | +2.8% |
| 1978 | 7.88 years | +0.9% |
| 1979 | 7.88 years | -0.0% |
| 1980 | 7.88 years | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 7.94 years | +0.7% |
| 1982 | 7.97 years | +0.4% |
| 1983 | 8.04 years | +0.9% |
| 1984 | 8.12 years | +1.0% |
| 1985 | 8.23 years | +1.3% |
| 1986 | 8.33 years | +1.2% |
| 1987 | 8.37 years | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 8.43 years | +0.7% |
| 1989 | 8.46 years | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 8.44 years | -0.2% |
| 1991 | 8.52 years | +0.9% |
| 1992 | 8.57 years | +0.6% |
| 1993 | 8.64 years | +0.8% |
| 1994 | 8.68 years | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 8.73 years | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 8.8 years | +0.8% |
| 1997 | 8.88 years | +0.9% |
| 1998 | 8.92 years | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 8.98 years | +0.7% |
| 2000 | 9.18 years | +2.2% |
| 2001 | 9.24 years | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 9.44 years | +2.2% |
| 2003 | 9.69 years | +2.7% |
| 2004 | 9.89 years | +2.1% |
| 2005 | 10.09 years | +1.9% |
| 2006 | 10.23 years | +1.4% |
| 2007 | 10.44 years | +2.0% |
| 2008 | 10.63 years | +1.8% |
| 2009 | 10.73 years | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 10.95 years | +2.0% |
| 2011 | 11.19 years | +2.2% |
| 2012 | 11.35 years | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 11.52 years | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 11.63 years | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 11.71 years | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 11.84 years | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 11.85 years | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 11.82 years | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 11.9 years | +0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 7.39 years | 6.77 years | 7.88 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 8.18 years | 7.88 years | 8.46 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.72 years | 8.44 years | 8.98 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.95 years | 9.18 years | 10.73 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.57 years | 10.95 years | 11.9 years | 10 |
Countries ranked near Low & middle income
- 27 Republic of Korea 16.49 years compare
- 28 Macau, China 16.44 years compare
- 29 Puerto Rico 16.42 years compare
- 30 Switzerland 16.41 years compare
- 31 Bahrain 16.3 years compare
- 32 United States of America 16.28 years compare
- 33 Czechia 16.28 years compare
More education data for Low & middle income
- Population ages 0-14 26.3% (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 554.22 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 27.98 million (2024)
- Population ages 15-64 65.3% (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1043 units per person (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 701.53 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.6 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Low & middle income?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Low & middle income was 11.9 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 Low & middle income?
- The highest recorded value was 11.9 years in 2019.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Low & middle income?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.77 years in 1970.
- How does Low & middle income rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- Low & middle income ranks 30th out of 45 groups with data for 2019.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Low & middle income?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Low & middle income 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
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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.