School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female (years) (female) in China
China: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female (years) (female) was 13.4 years in 2012. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in China, 1976–2012
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2012, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in China stood at 13.4 years. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.4% on the previous year and up 13.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in China peaked at 13.4 years in 2012 and was at its lowest, 7.06 years, in 1980.
China ranks 111th of 179 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female (years) (female) in China, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 7.36 years | — |
| 1977 | 7.79 years | +5.9% |
| 1978 | 7.92 years | +1.6% |
| 1979 | 7.52 years | -4.9% |
| 1980 | 7.06 years | -6.1% |
| 1994 | 8.13 years | +15.2% |
| 2006 | 11.86 years | +45.8% |
| 2007 | 12.2 years | +2.8% |
| 2008 | 12.56 years | +3.0% |
| 2009 | 12.94 years | +3.1% |
| 2010 | 13.06 years | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 13.21 years | +1.2% |
| 2012 | 13.4 years | +1.4% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 13.4 years is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 14.45 years, 93% of the median. (52 countries reporting)
- China's 13.4 years is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 14.8 years, 91% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female (years) (female) in China changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | +45.8% | 8.13 years | 11.86 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 7.65 years | 7.36 years | 7.92 years | 4 |
| 1980s | 7.06 years | 7.06 years | 7.06 years | 1 |
| 1990s | 8.13 years | 8.13 years | 8.13 years | 1 |
| 2000s | 12.39 years | 11.86 years | 12.94 years | 4 |
| 2010s | 13.23 years | 13.06 years | 13.4 years | 3 |
Countries ranked near China
More education data for China
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.41 million (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 7,020 (2021)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 21.58 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 19.36 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 97.98 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 108.57 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9587 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0771 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in China?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in China was 13.4 years in 2012, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 13.4 years in 2012.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.06 years in 1980.
- How does China rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female?
- China ranks 111th out of 179 countries with data for 2012.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release