School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Australia
Australia: School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes was 5.08 years in 2018. ◆ Volatile
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Australia, 1970–2018
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Australia recorded 5.08 years for school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in 2018.
That represents a change of down 5.3% on the previous year and down 11.7% over five years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Australia peaked at 5.8 years in 2016 and was at its lowest, 0.7908 years, in 1970.
Australia ranks 4th of 183 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Australia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.7908 years | — |
| 1971 | 0.8547 years | +8.1% |
| 1972 | 0.9192 years | +7.5% |
| 1973 | 0.9795 years | +6.6% |
| 1974 | 1.09 years | +11.4% |
| 1975 | 1.16 years | +6.7% |
| 1976 | 1.2 years | +3.4% |
| 1977 | 1.22 years | +1.5% |
| 1978 | 1.24 years | +1.4% |
| 1979 | 1.25 years | +0.9% |
| 1980 | 1.26 years | +0.6% |
| 1981 | 1.28 years | +1.7% |
| 1982 | 1.28 years | +0.2% |
| 1983 | 1.32 years | +2.8% |
| 1984 | 1.35 years | +2.4% |
| 1985 | 1.4 years | +3.4% |
| 1986 | 1.48 years | +5.7% |
| 1987 | 1.48 years | +0.6% |
| 1988 | 1.57 years | +6.1% |
| 1989 | 1.63 years | +3.7% |
| 1990 | 1.77 years | +8.3% |
| 1991 | 1.92 years | +8.4% |
| 1992 | 1.99 years | +3.6% |
| 1993 | 3.28 years | +65.1% |
| 1994 | 3.35 years | +2.2% |
| 1995 | 3.53 years | +5.5% |
| 1996 | 3.78 years | +7.0% |
| 1997 | 4.05 years | +7.0% |
| 2015 | 5.76 years | +42.3% |
| 2016 | 5.8 years | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 5.37 years | -7.4% |
| 2018 | 5.08 years | -5.3% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 5.08 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 3.2 years, 1.6× the median. (64 countries reporting)
- Australia's 5.08 years is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.67 years, 3.0× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Australia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | +65.1% | 1.99 years | 3.28 years |
| 2015 | +42.3% | 4.05 years | 5.76 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.07 years | 0.7908 years | 1.25 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.41 years | 1.26 years | 1.63 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.96 years | 1.77 years | 4.05 years | 8 |
| 2010s | 5.5 years | 5.08 years | 5.8 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More education data for Australia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 104,110 (1992)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 316,638 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 292,593 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.65 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.27 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.4362 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0835 units per person (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Australia?
- School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Australia was 5.08 years in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 5.8 years in 2016.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7908 years in 1970.
- How does Australia rank for school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes?
- Australia ranks 4th out of 183 countries with data for 2018.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Number of years a person of school entrance age can expect to spend within the specified level of education. For a child of a certain age a, the school life expectancy is calculated as the sum of the age specific enrolment rates for the levels of education specified. The part of the enrolment that is not distributed by age is divided by the school-age population for the level of education they are enrolled in, and multiplied by the duration of that level of education. The result is then added to the sum of the age-specific enrolment rates. A relatively high SLE indicates greater probability for children to spend more years in education and higher overall retention within the education system. It must be noted that the expected number of years does not necessarily coincide with the expected number of grades of education completed, because of repetition. Since school life expectancy is an average based on participation in different levels of education, the expected number of years of schooling may be pulled down by the magnitude of children who never go to school. Those children who are in school may benefit from many more years of education than the average.