School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in New Zealand
New Zealand: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes was 18.88 years in 2018. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in New Zealand, 1970–2018
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 New Zealand stood at 18.88 years. That is the highest value across all 32 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in New Zealand peaked at 18.88 years in 2018 and was at its lowest, 12.79 years, in 1971.
That places New Zealand 8th out of 183 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 32 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 12.82 years | — |
| 1971 | 12.79 years | -0.3% |
| 1972 | 13.14 years | +2.8% |
| 1973 | 13.12 years | -0.2% |
| 1974 | 13.12 years | -0.0% |
| 1975 | 13.28 years | +1.2% |
| 1976 | 13.53 years | +1.8% |
| 1977 | 13.53 years | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 13.57 years | +0.3% |
| 1980 | 13.47 years | -0.7% |
| 1981 | 13.4 years | -0.5% |
| 1982 | 13.41 years | +0.1% |
| 1983 | 13.56 years | +1.1% |
| 1984 | 13.78 years | +1.6% |
| 1985 | 13.77 years | -0.1% |
| 1986 | 13.89 years | +0.9% |
| 1987 | 14.04 years | +1.1% |
| 1988 | 14.29 years | +1.7% |
| 1989 | 14.48 years | +1.4% |
| 1990 | 14.48 years | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 14.81 years | +2.3% |
| 1992 | 15.16 years | +2.4% |
| 1993 | 15.97 years | +5.3% |
| 1994 | 16.56 years | +3.7% |
| 1995 | 16.86 years | +1.8% |
| 1996 | 17 years | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 18.83 years | +10.8% |
| 2014 | 18.8 years | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 18.87 years | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 18.12 years | -3.9% |
| 2017 | 18.84 years | +3.9% |
| 2018 | 18.88 years | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 13.21 years | 12.79 years | 13.57 years | 9 |
| 1980s | 13.81 years | 13.4 years | 14.48 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 15.84 years | 14.48 years | 17 years | 7 |
| 2010s | 18.72 years | 18.12 years | 18.88 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More education data for New Zealand
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 36,426 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 12,020 (1992)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 56,552 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 53,804 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 562,417 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 383,018 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.15 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0724 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in New Zealand?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in New Zealand was 18.88 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 New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 18.88 years in 2018.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.79 years in 1971.
- How does New Zealand rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- New Zealand ranks 8th out of 183 countries with data for 2018.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand 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 — 32 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.