School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in European Union
European Union: School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes was 3.36 years in 2019. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in European Union, 1970–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
European Union recorded 3.36 years for school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in 2019. That is the highest value across all 50 years on record.
That represents a change of up 11.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in European Union peaked at 3.36 years in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0.8675 years, in 1970.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 50 years of available data.
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in European Union, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.8675 years | — |
| 1971 | 0.8694 years | +0.2% |
| 1972 | 0.9052 years | +4.1% |
| 1973 | 0.9527 years | +5.3% |
| 1974 | 0.9896 years | +3.9% |
| 1975 | 1.04 years | +5.3% |
| 1976 | 1.1 years | +6.0% |
| 1977 | 1.14 years | +3.0% |
| 1978 | 1.17 years | +3.0% |
| 1979 | 1.17 years | -0.4% |
| 1980 | 1.18 years | +1.3% |
| 1981 | 1.19 years | +0.3% |
| 1982 | 1.19 years | +0.8% |
| 1983 | 1.21 years | +1.2% |
| 1984 | 1.22 years | +1.3% |
| 1985 | 1.25 years | +1.8% |
| 1986 | 1.27 years | +1.5% |
| 1987 | 1.28 years | +1.1% |
| 1988 | 1.31 years | +2.5% |
| 1989 | 1.37 years | +4.2% |
| 1990 | 1.42 years | +4.3% |
| 1991 | 1.52 years | +6.4% |
| 1992 | 1.6 years | +5.6% |
| 1993 | 1.73 years | +8.1% |
| 1994 | 1.89 years | +9.0% |
| 1995 | 1.99 years | +5.3% |
| 1996 | 2.1 years | +5.6% |
| 1997 | 2.22 years | +5.9% |
| 1998 | 2.28 years | +2.8% |
| 1999 | 2.38 years | +4.1% |
| 2000 | 2.46 years | +3.7% |
| 2001 | 2.57 years | +4.3% |
| 2002 | 2.62 years | +1.9% |
| 2003 | 2.7 years | +3.2% |
| 2004 | 2.77 years | +2.4% |
| 2005 | 2.83 years | +2.4% |
| 2006 | 2.88 years | +1.7% |
| 2007 | 2.91 years | +1.2% |
| 2008 | 2.96 years | +1.7% |
| 2009 | 3.02 years | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 3.09 years | +2.6% |
| 2011 | 3.15 years | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 3.16 years | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 3.14 years | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 3.18 years | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 3.18 years | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 3.22 years | +1.5% |
| 2017 | 3.29 years | +2.0% |
| 2018 | 3.36 years | +2.0% |
| 2019 | 3.36 years | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.02 years | 0.8675 years | 1.17 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.25 years | 1.18 years | 1.37 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.91 years | 1.42 years | 2.38 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.77 years | 2.46 years | 3.02 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.21 years | 3.09 years | 3.36 years | 10 |
Countries ranked near European Union
More education data for European Union
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 1.89 million (2024)
- Population ages 15-64 63.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 14.2% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 102.4% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 1.89 million (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, per capita 0.0042 units per person (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 102.5% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, male 102.4% (2024)
- Labor force, total, per capita 0.4914 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in European Union?
- School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in European Union was 3.36 years in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in European Union?
- The highest recorded value was 3.36 years in 2018.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in European Union?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8675 years in 1970.
- How does European Union rank for school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes?
- European Union ranks 1st out of 2 regions with data for 2019.
- Is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in European Union?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this European Union 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.
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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.