School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD): School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes was 12.9 years in 2018. ▲ Rising

Latest (2018)
12.9 years
Change on year
up 0.6%
Rank
22nd
of 45 groups
All-time high
12.9 years
in 2018
All-time low
6.16 years
in 1971
Years of data
49
1970–2018

School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD), 1970–2018

051015197019942018

Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2018, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) stood at 12.9 years. That is the highest value across all 49 years on record.

The figure is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 11.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) peaked at 12.9 years in 2018 and was at its lowest, 6.16 years, in 1971.

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) ranks 22nd of 45 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 49 years of available data.

School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD), year by year

Annual values for School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD), 1970 to 2018.
Year years Change
1970 6.25 years
1971 6.16 years -1.3%
1972 6.33 years +2.7%
1973 6.58 years +3.9%
1974 6.74 years +2.5%
1975 7.1 years +5.3%
1976 7.44 years +4.9%
1977 7.73 years +3.9%
1978 8 years +3.5%
1979 8.05 years +0.6%
1980 8.31 years +3.3%
1981 8.36 years +0.6%
1982 8.57 years +2.4%
1983 8.69 years +1.5%
1984 8.87 years +2.0%
1985 8.98 years +1.3%
1986 9.17 years +2.1%
1987 9.33 years +1.8%
1988 9.43 years +1.0%
1989 9.42 years -0.2%
1990 9.45 years +0.3%
1991 9.5 years +0.6%
1992 9.42 years -0.9%
1993 9.54 years +1.2%
1994 9.85 years +3.3%
1995 9.7 years -1.5%
1996 9.93 years +2.3%
1997 10.05 years +1.2%
1998 10.2 years +1.6%
1999 10.33 years +1.3%
2000 10.46 years +1.2%
2001 10.66 years +2.0%
2002 10.81 years +1.4%
2003 10.93 years +1.1%
2004 11.02 years +0.8%
2005 11.31 years +2.7%
2006 11.37 years +0.5%
2007 11.46 years +0.8%
2008 11.59 years +1.1%
2009 11.65 years +0.5%
2010 11.8 years +1.3%
2011 12.02 years +1.9%
2012 12.51 years +4.1%
2013 12.39 years -1.0%
2014 12.46 years +0.6%
2015 12.61 years +1.2%
2016 12.73 years +0.9%
2017 12.83 years +0.8%
2018 12.9 years +0.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 7.04 years 6.16 years 8.05 years 10
1980s 8.91 years 8.31 years 9.43 years 10
1990s 9.8 years 9.42 years 10.33 years 10
2000s 11.13 years 10.46 years 11.65 years 10
2010s 12.47 years 11.8 years 12.9 years 9

Countries ranked near Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)

  1. 19 Hong Kong 17.22 years compare
  2. 20 Germany 16.93 years compare
  3. 21 Uruguay 16.84 years compare
  4. 22 Portugal 16.72 years compare
  5. 23 Chile 16.59 years compare
  6. 24 Malta 16.58 years compare
  7. 25 Lithuania 16.57 years compare

See the full ranking of 228 places →

More education data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)

All data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)?
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) was 12.9 years in 2018, 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)?
The highest recorded value was 12.9 years in 2018.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)?
The lowest recorded value was 6.16 years in 1971.
How does Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) ranks 22nd out of 45 groups with data for 2018.
Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)?
Over the last ten years it is up 11.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) 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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School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD). Statizoid, drawing on Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Retrieved 17 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-primary-to-tertiary-both-sexes-years/middle-east-north-africa-afghanistan-and-pakistan-ida-and-ibrd/

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About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years)
Unit
years
Source
Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
228 places, 7,038 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

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.