School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in OECD members
OECD members: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes was 16.33 years in 2019. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in OECD members, 1970–2019
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in OECD members is 16.33 years, measured in 2019. That is the highest value across all 50 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 7.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in OECD members peaked at 16.33 years in 2019 and was at its lowest, 10.98 years, in 1971.
That places OECD members 5th out of 43 groups with data for 2019, putting it 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 OECD members, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 11.07 years | — |
| 1971 | 10.98 years | -0.8% |
| 1972 | 11.06 years | +0.7% |
| 1973 | 11.22 years | +1.5% |
| 1974 | 11.26 years | +0.4% |
| 1975 | 11.31 years | +0.4% |
| 1976 | 11.45 years | +1.2% |
| 1977 | 11.59 years | +1.2% |
| 1978 | 11.59 years | +0.1% |
| 1979 | 11.59 years | -0.0% |
| 1980 | 11.9 years | +2.6% |
| 1981 | 11.96 years | +0.5% |
| 1982 | 12.12 years | +1.3% |
| 1983 | 12.18 years | +0.6% |
| 1984 | 12.31 years | +1.1% |
| 1985 | 12.38 years | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 12.52 years | +1.2% |
| 1987 | 12.66 years | +1.1% |
| 1988 | 12.78 years | +1.0% |
| 1989 | 12.85 years | +0.6% |
| 1990 | 12.87 years | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 12.95 years | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 13.19 years | +1.9% |
| 1993 | 13.39 years | +1.5% |
| 1994 | 13.59 years | +1.5% |
| 1995 | 13.71 years | +0.9% |
| 1996 | 13.85 years | +1.0% |
| 1997 | 14.02 years | +1.2% |
| 1998 | 14.2 years | +1.3% |
| 1999 | 14.16 years | -0.3% |
| 2000 | 14.19 years | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 14.35 years | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 14.48 years | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 14.61 years | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 14.65 years | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 14.79 years | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 14.87 years | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 14.96 years | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 15.04 years | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 15.18 years | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 15.33 years | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 15.45 years | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 15.5 years | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 15.91 years | +2.6% |
| 2014 | 16 years | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 16.09 years | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 16.22 years | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 16.31 years | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 16.31 years | -0.0% |
| 2019 | 16.33 years | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 11.31 years | 10.98 years | 11.59 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 12.37 years | 11.9 years | 12.85 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 13.59 years | 12.87 years | 14.2 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.71 years | 14.19 years | 15.18 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.95 years | 15.33 years | 16.33 years | 10 |
Countries ranked near OECD members
More education data for OECD members
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 6.28 million (2024)
- Population ages 0-14 16.4% (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 64.5% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 100.7% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 6.28 million (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, per capita 0.0045 units per person (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 100.4% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, male 100.9% (2024)
- Labor force, total 709.91 million (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in OECD members?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in OECD members was 16.33 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 OECD members?
- The highest recorded value was 16.33 years in 2019.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in OECD members?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.98 years in 1971.
- How does OECD members rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- OECD members ranks 5th out of 43 groups with data for 2019.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in OECD members?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this OECD members 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.