School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in United States
United States: School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes was 5.84 years in 2022. ▲ Rising
Latest (2022)
5.84 years
Change on year
down 3.8%
World rank
102nd
of 214 countries
All-time high
6.07 years
in 2021
All-time low
4.82 years
in 1979
Years of data
42
1971–2022
School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in United States, 1971–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
United States recorded 5.84 years for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in 2022.
That represents a change of down 3.8% on the previous year and up 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in United States peaked at 6.07 years in 2021 and was at its lowest, 4.82 years, in 1979.
That places United States 102nd out of 214 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 42 years of available data.
School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in United States, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 5 years | — |
| 1972 | 5.05 years | +1.0% |
| 1974 | 5.04 years | -0.2% |
| 1975 | 5.04 years | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 5.07 years | +0.5% |
| 1977 | 5.1 years | +0.6% |
| 1978 | 5.14 years | +0.8% |
| 1979 | 4.82 years | -6.2% |
| 1980 | 5.67 years | +17.8% |
| 1981 | 5.66 years | -0.3% |
| 1982 | 5.84 years | +3.2% |
| 1983 | 5.78 years | -1.0% |
| 1984 | 5.82 years | +0.8% |
| 1985 | 5.74 years | -1.5% |
| 1986 | 5.79 years | +1.0% |
| 1987 | 5.8 years | +0.1% |
| 1990 | 5.82 years | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 5.74 years | -1.4% |
| 1993 | 5.8 years | +1.1% |
| 1994 | 5.8 years | -0.0% |
| 1995 | 5.66 years | -2.5% |
| 1996 | 5.65 years | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 5.67 years | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 5.66 years | -0.1% |
| 2000 | 5.65 years | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 5.71 years | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 5.67 years | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 5.72 years | +1.0% |
| 2004 | 5.71 years | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 5.71 years | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 5.69 years | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 5.7 years | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 5.76 years | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 5.81 years | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 5.85 years | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 5.92 years | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 5.93 years | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 5.95 years | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 5.99 years | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 6.03 years | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 6.07 years | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 5.84 years | -3.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.03 years | 4.82 years | 5.14 years | 8 |
| 1980s | 5.76 years | 5.66 years | 5.84 years | 8 |
| 1990s | 5.72 years | 5.65 years | 5.82 years | 8 |
| 2000s | 5.69 years | 5.65 years | 5.72 years | 8 |
| 2010s | 5.89 years | 5.76 years | 5.99 years | 7 |
| 2020s | 5.98 years | 5.84 years | 6.07 years | 3 |
Countries ranked near United States
More education data for United States
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of lower secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- 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 1.78 million (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in United States?
- School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in United States was 5.84 years in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 6.07 years in 2021.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.82 years in 1979.
- How does United States rank for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes?
- United States ranks 102nd out of 214 countries with data for 2022.
- Is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States 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 — 42 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release