School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years) (tertiary both) in Finland
Finland: School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years) (tertiary both) was 4.29 years in 2018. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Finland, 1971–2018
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2018, school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Finland stood at 4.29 years.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and down 6.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Finland peaked at 4.6 years in 2011 and was at its lowest, 0.6564 years, in 1971.
Finland ranks 11th of 183 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 48 years of available data.
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years) (tertiary both) in Finland, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 0.6564 years | — |
| 1972 | 0.682 years | +3.9% |
| 1973 | 0.7136 years | +4.6% |
| 1974 | 0.7852 years | +10.0% |
| 1975 | 0.8461 years | +7.8% |
| 1976 | 1.38 years | +63.1% |
| 1977 | 1.47 years | +6.3% |
| 1978 | 1.53 years | +4.4% |
| 1979 | 1.56 years | +2.0% |
| 1980 | 1.59 years | +1.5% |
| 1981 | 1.61 years | +1.3% |
| 1982 | 1.63 years | +1.6% |
| 1983 | 1.67 years | +2.3% |
| 1984 | 1.57 years | -5.7% |
| 1985 | 1.6 years | +1.5% |
| 1986 | 1.7 years | +6.7% |
| 1987 | 1.8 years | +5.8% |
| 1988 | 1.9 years | +5.7% |
| 1989 | 2.05 years | +7.6% |
| 1990 | 2.22 years | +8.5% |
| 1991 | 2.44 years | +9.9% |
| 1992 | 2.65 years | +8.3% |
| 1993 | 2.97 years | +12.1% |
| 1994 | 3.2 years | +7.8% |
| 1995 | 3.37 years | +5.3% |
| 1996 | 3.52 years | +4.4% |
| 1997 | 3.67 years | +4.3% |
| 1998 | 3.96 years | +7.9% |
| 1999 | 3.98 years | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 4.08 years | +2.7% |
| 2001 | 4.22 years | +3.4% |
| 2002 | 4.27 years | +1.1% |
| 2003 | 4.38 years | +2.5% |
| 2004 | 4.49 years | +2.5% |
| 2005 | 4.56 years | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 4.59 years | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 4.58 years | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 4.59 years | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 4.4 years | -4.0% |
| 2010 | 4.52 years | +2.5% |
| 2011 | 4.6 years | +1.9% |
| 2012 | 4.6 years | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 4.54 years | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 4.47 years | -1.6% |
| 2015 | 4.39 years | -1.7% |
| 2016 | 4.31 years | -2.0% |
| 2017 | 4.29 years | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 4.29 years | +0.1% |
Finland compared with similar countries
- Finland's 4.29 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 3.2 years, 1.3× the median. (64 countries reporting)
- Finland's 4.29 years is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 3.15 years, 1.4× the median. (49 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years) (tertiary both) in Finland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | +63.1% | 0.8461 years | 1.38 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.07 years | 0.6564 years | 1.56 years | 9 |
| 1980s | 1.71 years | 1.57 years | 2.05 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.2 years | 2.22 years | 3.98 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.42 years | 4.08 years | 4.59 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.45 years | 4.29 years | 4.6 years | 9 |
Countries ranked near Finland
- 8 Macao 4.43 years compare
- 9 Chile 4.39 years compare
- 10 Saint Kitts and Nevis 4.33 years compare
- 12 Netherlands 4.24 years compare
- 13 Russia 4.23 years compare
- 14 New Zealand 4.19 years compare
More education data for Finland
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 98.25 (2024)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 98.23 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 42,938 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 1,144 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 94,036 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 89,318 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 543,350 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 360,117 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.29 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Finland?
- School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Finland was 4.29 years in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in Finland?
- The highest recorded value was 4.6 years in 2011.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in Finland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6564 years in 1971.
- How does Finland rank for school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes?
- Finland ranks 11th out of 183 countries with data for 2018.
- Is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Finland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Finland 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
CSV · JSON — 48 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
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.