School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in North America
North America: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes was 16.35 years in 2019. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in North America, 1970–2019
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
North America recorded 16.35 years for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in 2019. That is the highest value across all 50 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in North America peaked at 16.35 years in 2019 and was at its lowest, 12.98 years, in 1971.
North America ranks 4th of 43 groups on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 50 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in North America, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 13.17 years | — |
| 1971 | 12.98 years | -1.4% |
| 1972 | 13.04 years | +0.4% |
| 1973 | 13.35 years | +2.4% |
| 1974 | 13.12 years | -1.7% |
| 1975 | 13.16 years | +0.3% |
| 1976 | 13.35 years | +1.5% |
| 1977 | 13.37 years | +0.2% |
| 1978 | 13.41 years | +0.3% |
| 1979 | 13 years | -3.0% |
| 1980 | 14.17 years | +9.0% |
| 1981 | 14.2 years | +0.2% |
| 1982 | 14.59 years | +2.8% |
| 1983 | 14.57 years | -0.2% |
| 1984 | 14.67 years | +0.7% |
| 1985 | 14.64 years | -0.2% |
| 1986 | 14.76 years | +0.8% |
| 1987 | 15.03 years | +1.9% |
| 1988 | 15.39 years | +2.4% |
| 1989 | 15.49 years | +0.7% |
| 1990 | 15.55 years | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 15.63 years | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 16.13 years | +3.2% |
| 1993 | 16.08 years | -0.3% |
| 1994 | 16.11 years | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 16.1 years | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 16.05 years | -0.3% |
| 1997 | 16.04 years | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 15.97 years | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 15.44 years | -3.3% |
| 2000 | 15.2 years | -1.6% |
| 2001 | 15.39 years | +1.3% |
| 2002 | 15.44 years | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 15.58 years | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 15.62 years | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 15.76 years | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 15.76 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 15.79 years | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 15.88 years | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 15.98 years | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 15.98 years | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 16.08 years | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 16.1 years | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 16.11 years | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 16.12 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 16.16 years | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 16.25 years | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 16.3 years | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 16.28 years | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 16.35 years | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 13.19 years | 12.98 years | 13.41 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 14.75 years | 14.17 years | 15.49 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 15.91 years | 15.44 years | 16.13 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 15.64 years | 15.2 years | 15.98 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.17 years | 15.98 years | 16.35 years | 10 |
Countries ranked near North America
More education data for North America
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 26.20 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.2703 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 2.04 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0687 units per person (2024)
- Population ages 15-64 64.5% (2025)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 16.9% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 96.8% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 2.04 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in North America?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in North America was 16.35 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 North America?
- The highest recorded value was 16.35 years in 2019.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.98 years in 1971.
- How does North America rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- North America ranks 4th out of 43 groups with data for 2019.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North America 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.