School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years) (tertiary both) in France
France: School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years) (tertiary both) was 3.29 years in 2018. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in France, 1971–2018
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2018, school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in France stood at 3.29 years. That is the highest value across all 47 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.3% on the previous year and up 36.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in France peaked at 3.29 years in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0.928 years, in 1971.
France ranks 37th of 183 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 47 years of available data.
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years) (tertiary both) in France, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 0.928 years | — |
| 1972 | 0.9818 years | +5.8% |
| 1973 | 1.07 years | +9.0% |
| 1974 | 1.11 years | +3.9% |
| 1975 | 1.18 years | +6.1% |
| 1976 | 1.24 years | +5.1% |
| 1977 | 1.25 years | +0.6% |
| 1978 | 1.3 years | +4.2% |
| 1979 | 1.22 years | -6.3% |
| 1980 | 1.26 years | +3.4% |
| 1981 | 1.27 years | +0.7% |
| 1982 | 1.34 years | +5.7% |
| 1983 | 1.36 years | +1.7% |
| 1985 | 1.44 years | +5.9% |
| 1986 | 1.47 years | +1.9% |
| 1987 | 1.49 years | +1.4% |
| 1988 | 1.54 years | +3.3% |
| 1989 | 1.72 years | +11.4% |
| 1990 | 1.84 years | +7.5% |
| 1991 | 1.97 years | +7.0% |
| 1992 | 2.14 years | +8.5% |
| 1993 | 2.29 years | +6.8% |
| 1994 | 2.48 years | +8.4% |
| 1995 | 2.52 years | +1.7% |
| 1996 | 2.62 years | +3.9% |
| 1997 | 2.67 years | +1.9% |
| 1998 | 2.69 years | +1.0% |
| 1999 | 2.57 years | -4.4% |
| 2000 | 2.53 years | -1.7% |
| 2001 | 2.52 years | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 2.36 years | -6.5% |
| 2003 | 2.42 years | +2.6% |
| 2004 | 2.46 years | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 2.47 years | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 2.46 years | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 2.43 years | -1.2% |
| 2008 | 2.42 years | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 2.43 years | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 2.52 years | +3.8% |
| 2011 | 2.56 years | +1.7% |
| 2012 | 2.65 years | +3.5% |
| 2013 | 2.92 years | +9.9% |
| 2014 | 3.06 years | +5.1% |
| 2015 | 3.01 years | -1.7% |
| 2016 | 3.1 years | +2.9% |
| 2017 | 3.18 years | +2.6% |
| 2018 | 3.29 years | +3.3% |
France compared with similar countries
- France's 3.29 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 3.2 years, 1.0× the median. (64 countries reporting)
- France's 3.29 years is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 3.15 years, 1.0× the median. (49 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.14 years | 0.928 years | 1.3 years | 9 |
| 1980s | 1.43 years | 1.26 years | 1.72 years | 9 |
| 1990s | 2.38 years | 1.84 years | 2.69 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.45 years | 2.36 years | 2.53 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.92 years | 2.52 years | 3.29 years | 9 |
Countries ranked near France
More education data for France
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 99.97 (2016)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.8 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 457,956 (2019)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 43,533 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.19 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.14 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.27 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.13 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.27 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in France?
- School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in France was 3.29 years in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in France?
- The highest recorded value was 3.29 years in 2018.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.928 years in 1971.
- How does France rank for school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes?
- France ranks 37th out of 183 countries with data for 2018.
- Is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is up 36.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this France 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 — 47 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.