School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years) (life both) in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years) (life both) was 3.33 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
3.33 years
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
178th
of 214 countries
All-time high
3.33 years
in 2023
All-time low
0.5809 years
in 1971
Years of data
33
1971–2023
School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1971–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Democratic Republic of Congo is 3.33 years, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
The figure is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 44.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 3.33 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.5809 years, in 1971.
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 178th of 214 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years) (life both) in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 0.5809 years | — |
| 1972 | 0.676 years | +16.4% |
| 1973 | 0.7182 years | +6.2% |
| 1974 | 0.7184 years | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.9272 years | +29.1% |
| 1976 | 1.03 years | +10.9% |
| 1977 | 1.17 years | +13.4% |
| 1978 | 1.32 years | +13.6% |
| 1979 | 1.5 years | +13.2% |
| 1980 | 1.47 years | -1.9% |
| 1981 | 1.45 years | -1.4% |
| 1982 | 1.43 years | -1.3% |
| 1983 | 1.41 years | -1.2% |
| 1984 | 1.4 years | -1.1% |
| 1985 | 1.38 years | -0.9% |
| 1986 | 1.38 years | -0.5% |
| 1987 | 1.37 years | -0.3% |
| 1988 | 1.45 years | +5.5% |
| 1992 | 1.4 years | -3.2% |
| 1993 | 1.51 years | +7.6% |
| 1994 | 1.61 years | +6.9% |
| 1995 | 1.64 years | +1.7% |
| 2007 | 2.02 years | +23.0% |
| 2008 | 2.15 years | +6.6% |
| 2009 | 2.24 years | +4.3% |
| 2010 | 2.22 years | -0.9% |
| 2011 | 2.55 years | +14.6% |
| 2012 | 2.33 years | -8.6% |
| 2013 | 2.31 years | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 2.47 years | +6.9% |
| 2015 | 2.53 years | +2.4% |
| 2021 | 3.32 years | +31.3% |
| 2023 | 3.33 years | +0.2% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 3.33 years is above the median for low income countries, which is 2.3 years, 1.4× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 3.33 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.05 years, 1.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.9595 years | 0.5809 years | 1.5 years | 9 |
| 1980s | 1.41 years | 1.37 years | 1.47 years | 9 |
| 1990s | 1.54 years | 1.4 years | 1.64 years | 4 |
| 2000s | 2.14 years | 2.02 years | 2.24 years | 3 |
| 2010s | 2.4 years | 2.22 years | 2.55 years | 6 |
| 2020s | 3.33 years | 3.32 years | 3.33 years | 2 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
More education data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 621,578 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 1.99 million (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 410,532 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 427,300 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 7.93 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 21.15 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 7.35 % change on previous year (2021)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1999 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Democratic Republic of Congo was 3.33 years in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 3.33 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5809 years in 1971.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 178th out of 214 countries with data for 2023.
- Is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 44.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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.
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release