School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years) (life both) in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years) (life both) was 6.58 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Saudi Arabia, 1979–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Saudi Arabia is 6.58 years, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 6.1% on the previous year and up 14.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Saudi Arabia peaked at 7.01 years in 2022 and was at its lowest, 2.79 years, in 1979.
Saudi Arabia ranks 62nd of 214 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years) (life both) in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 2.79 years | — |
| 2005 | 5.21 years | +86.8% |
| 2007 | 5.38 years | +3.3% |
| 2009 | 5.69 years | +5.7% |
| 2013 | 5.4 years | -5.0% |
| 2014 | 5.76 years | +6.7% |
| 2015 | 6.07 years | +5.4% |
| 2016 | 6.21 years | +2.3% |
| 2017 | 6.3 years | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 6.35 years | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 6.29 years | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 6.18 years | -1.6% |
| 2021 | 6.2 years | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 7.01 years | +13.0% |
| 2024 | 6.58 years | -6.1% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 6.58 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 6.57 years, 1.0× the median. (76 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 6.58 years is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 5.81 years, 1.1× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years) (life both) in Saudi Arabia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | +86.8% | 2.79 years | 5.21 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.79 years | 2.79 years | 2.79 years | 1 |
| 2000s | 5.42 years | 5.21 years | 5.69 years | 3 |
| 2010s | 6.06 years | 5.4 years | 6.35 years | 7 |
| 2020s | 6.49 years | 6.18 years | 7.01 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More education data for Saudi Arabia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 242,375 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 26,900 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 215,559 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 214,840 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.36 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.45 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.53 % change on previous year (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0976 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Saudi Arabia?
- School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Saudi Arabia was 6.58 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 7.01 years in 2022.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.79 years in 1979.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 62nd out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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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CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release