School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in China
China: School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes was 5.54 years in 2012. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in China, 1970–2012
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
China recorded 5.54 years for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in 2012. That is the highest value across all 40 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 46.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in China peaked at 5.54 years in 2012 and was at its lowest, 1.03 years, in 1970.
China ranks 111th of 214 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 40 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.22 years | 1.03 years | 3.19 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.06 years | 1.79 years | 2.42 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.89 years | 2.34 years | 3.52 years | 9 |
| 2000s | 4.32 years | 3.69 years | 5.29 years | 8 |
| 2010s | 5.5 years | 5.45 years | 5.54 years | 3 |
Countries ranked near China
More education data for China
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 6.74 million (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 69.7% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 15.4% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 99.64 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary 99.6% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in China?
- School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in China was 5.54 years in 2012, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 5.54 years in 2012.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.03 years in 1970.
- How does China rank for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes?
- China ranks 111th out of 214 countries with data for 2012.
- Is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 46.2%. 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, secondary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 40 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release