School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Hong Kong

Hong Kong: School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes was 3.92 years in 2019. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2019)
3.92 years
Change on year
up 4.9%
World rank
21st
of 183 countries
All-time high
3.92 years
in 2019
All-time low
0.3743 years
in 1971
Years of data
32
1971–2019

School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Hong Kong, 1971–2019

012341971199520191971: 0.374 years1972: 0.386 years1973: 0.402 years1974: 0.435 years1975: 0.461 years1976: 0.502 years1977: 0.469 years1979: 0.495 years1980: 0.506 years1982: 0.542 years1983: 0.603 years1984: 0.64 years1992: 0.907 years1993: 0.962 years1994: 1.1 years2003: 1.5 years2004: 1.5 years2005: 1.6 years2006: 1.7 years2007: 2.1 years2008: 2.8 years2009: 2.8 years2010: 2.9 years2011: 3 years2012: 3 years2013: 3.3 years2014: 3.4 years2015: 3.4 years2016: 3.5 years2017: 3.6 years2018: 3.7 years2019: 3.9 years

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2019, school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Hong Kong stood at 3.92 years. That is the highest value across all 32 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.9% on the previous year and up 38.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Hong Kong peaked at 3.92 years in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.3743 years, in 1971.

That places Hong Kong 21st out of 183 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Hong Kong, year by year

Annual values for School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years) in Hong Kong, 1971 to 2019.
Year years Change
1971 0.3743 years
1972 0.3859 years +3.1%
1973 0.402 years +4.2%
1974 0.4352 years +8.3%
1975 0.4611 years +5.9%
1976 0.5024 years +9.0%
1977 0.4687 years -6.7%
1979 0.4946 years +5.5%
1980 0.5061 years +2.3%
1982 0.5416 years +7.0%
1983 0.6028 years +11.3%
1984 0.6396 years +6.1%
1992 0.9066 years +41.7%
1993 0.9616 years +6.1%
1994 1.07 years +11.6%
2003 1.49 years +39.1%
2004 1.52 years +1.9%
2005 1.6 years +4.9%
2006 1.66 years +3.9%
2007 2.13 years +28.4%
2008 2.77 years +30.1%
2009 2.82 years +1.8%
2010 2.92 years +3.7%
2011 3.01 years +2.9%
2012 2.97 years -1.2%
2013 3.31 years +11.3%
2014 3.4 years +2.7%
2015 3.41 years +0.3%
2016 3.53 years +3.7%
2017 3.63 years +2.6%
2018 3.73 years +2.9%
2019 3.92 years +4.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 0.4405 years 0.3743 years 0.5024 years 8
1980s 0.5725 years 0.5061 years 0.6396 years 4
1990s 0.9806 years 0.9066 years 1.07 years 3
2000s 2 years 1.49 years 2.82 years 7
2010s 3.38 years 2.92 years 3.92 years 10

Countries ranked near Hong Kong

  1. 18 United States 3.99 years compare
  2. 19 Venezuela 3.97 years compare
  3. 20 Belarus 3.96 years compare
  4. 22 Austria 3.92 years compare
  5. 23 Ukraine 3.9 years compare
  6. 24 Belgium 3.82 years compare

See the full ranking of 228 places →

More education data for Hong Kong

All data for Hong Kong →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Hong Kong?
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Hong Kong was 3.92 years in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in Hong Kong?
The highest recorded value was 3.92 years in 2019.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in Hong Kong?
The lowest recorded value was 0.3743 years in 1971.
How does Hong Kong rank for school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes?
Hong Kong ranks 21st out of 183 countries with data for 2019.
Is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Hong Kong?
Over the last ten years it is up 38.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Hong Kong 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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School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Hong Kong. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 02 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-tertiary-both-sexes-years/hong-kong-sar-china/

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About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years)
Unit
years
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
228 places, 7,799 data points, 1970–2020
Last refreshed

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.