School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in India
India: School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes was 1.43 years in 2019. ◆ Volatile
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in India, 1971–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
India recorded 1.43 years for school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in 2019. That is the highest value across all 41 years on record.
The figure is up 1.8% on the previous year and up 78.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in India peaked at 1.43 years in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.2416 years, in 1977.
That places India 100th out of 183 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in India, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 0.2462 years | — |
| 1973 | 0.2492 years | +1.2% |
| 1976 | 0.2484 years | -0.3% |
| 1977 | 0.2416 years | -2.7% |
| 1978 | 0.2492 years | +3.2% |
| 1979 | 0.2479 years | -0.5% |
| 1980 | 0.2482 years | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 0.2624 years | +5.7% |
| 1982 | 0.247 years | -5.9% |
| 1983 | 0.2777 years | +12.4% |
| 1984 | 0.2928 years | +5.4% |
| 1985 | 0.2914 years | -0.5% |
| 1986 | 0.2994 years | +2.7% |
| 1987 | 0.3166 years | +5.7% |
| 1988 | 0.2767 years | -12.6% |
| 1989 | 0.2875 years | +3.9% |
| 1990 | 0.2974 years | +3.4% |
| 1991 | 0.3015 years | +1.4% |
| 1995 | 0.2768 years | -8.2% |
| 1996 | 0.3135 years | +13.2% |
| 1997 | 0.3273 years | +4.4% |
| 2000 | 0.4754 years | +45.3% |
| 2001 | 0.4847 years | +2.0% |
| 2002 | 0.5088 years | +5.0% |
| 2003 | 0.5313 years | +4.4% |
| 2004 | 0.5467 years | +2.9% |
| 2005 | 0.534 years | -2.3% |
| 2006 | 0.5743 years | +7.6% |
| 2007 | 0.6563 years | +14.3% |
| 2008 | 0.7524 years | +14.6% |
| 2009 | 0.8015 years | +6.5% |
| 2010 | 0.8917 years | +11.2% |
| 2011 | 1.14 years | +27.6% |
| 2012 | 1.21 years | +6.6% |
| 2013 | 1.19 years | -1.9% |
| 2014 | 1.27 years | +6.9% |
| 2015 | 1.34 years | +5.3% |
| 2016 | 1.34 years | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 1.37 years | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 1.4 years | +2.3% |
| 2019 | 1.43 years | +1.8% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 1.43 years is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.678 years, 2.1× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- India's 1.43 years is above the median for South Asia, which is 1.13 years, 1.3× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in India 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | +45.3% | 0.3273 years | 0.4754 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.2471 years | 0.2416 years | 0.2492 years | 6 |
| 1980s | 0.28 years | 0.247 years | 0.3166 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.3033 years | 0.2768 years | 0.3273 years | 5 |
| 2000s | 0.5865 years | 0.4754 years | 0.8015 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.26 years | 0.8917 years | 1.43 years | 10 |
Countries ranked near India
More education data for India
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.31 million (2025)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 3.10 million (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 19.37 million (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 18.52 million (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 133.16 million (2025)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 126.12 million (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -8.85 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0862 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in India?
- School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in India was 1.43 years in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 1.43 years in 2019.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2416 years in 1977.
- How does India rank for school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes?
- India ranks 100th out of 183 countries with data for 2019.
- Is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is up 78.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this India 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 — 41 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.