School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes was 7.79 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in United Kingdom, 2000–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2023, school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in United Kingdom stood at 7.79 years.
That represents a change of down 0.9% on the previous year and down 9.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in United Kingdom peaked at 8.73 years in 2014 and was at its lowest, 6.48 years, in 2012.
United Kingdom ranks 22nd of 214 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.09 years | — |
| 2001 | 7.1 years | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 7.21 years | +1.5% |
| 2003 | 7.16 years | -0.6% |
| 2004 | 7.35 years | +2.7% |
| 2005 | 7.4 years | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 6.89 years | -6.9% |
| 2007 | 6.84 years | -0.8% |
| 2008 | 6.92 years | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 7.04 years | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 7.22 years | +2.6% |
| 2011 | 6.59 years | -8.6% |
| 2012 | 6.48 years | -1.8% |
| 2013 | 8.56 years | +32.2% |
| 2014 | 8.73 years | +2.0% |
| 2015 | 8.56 years | -2.0% |
| 2017 | 8.52 years | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 8.19 years | -3.8% |
| 2019 | 8.04 years | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 7.91 years | -1.6% |
| 2021 | 7.88 years | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 7.86 years | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 7.79 years | -0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7.1 years | 6.84 years | 7.4 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.88 years | 6.48 years | 8.73 years | 9 |
| 2020s | 7.86 years | 7.79 years | 7.91 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More education data for United Kingdom
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,022 tertiary education (2023)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 281,128 (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 2 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 63.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 17.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in United Kingdom?
- School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in United Kingdom was 7.79 years in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 8.73 years in 2014.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.48 years in 2012.
- How does United Kingdom rank for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes?
- United Kingdom ranks 22nd out of 214 countries with data for 2023.
- Is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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 — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release