School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Panama
Panama: School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes was 2.39 years in 2016. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Panama, 1970–2016
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Panama is 2.39 years, measured in 2016. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.1% on the previous year and up 10.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Panama peaked at 2.39 years in 2016 and was at its lowest, 0.3169 years, in 1970.
That places Panama 69th out of 183 countries with data for 2016, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Panama, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.3169 years | — |
| 1971 | 0.5159 years | +62.8% |
| 1972 | 0.604 years | +17.1% |
| 1973 | 0.6925 years | +14.6% |
| 1974 | 0.7473 years | +7.9% |
| 1975 | 0.78 years | +4.4% |
| 1976 | 0.8737 years | +12.0% |
| 1977 | 0.9622 years | +10.1% |
| 1978 | 0.9194 years | -4.5% |
| 1979 | 0.9608 years | +4.5% |
| 1980 | 1.01 years | +5.6% |
| 1981 | 1.03 years | +2.0% |
| 1982 | 1.07 years | +3.2% |
| 1983 | 1.03 years | -3.7% |
| 1984 | 1.17 years | +14.2% |
| 1985 | 1.21 years | +3.4% |
| 1986 | 1.33 years | +9.9% |
| 1987 | 1.17 years | -12.4% |
| 1988 | 1.06 years | -9.1% |
| 1989 | 1.02 years | -3.8% |
| 1990 | 1.05 years | +2.7% |
| 1991 | 1.13 years | +7.9% |
| 1992 | 1.21 years | +6.9% |
| 1993 | 1.3 years | +7.0% |
| 1994 | 1.28 years | -1.4% |
| 1995 | 1.4 years | +9.4% |
| 1996 | 1.46 years | +4.4% |
| 1998 | 1.82 years | +24.5% |
| 1999 | 1.91 years | +5.3% |
| 2000 | 2.07 years | +8.1% |
| 2001 | 2.04 years | -1.2% |
| 2002 | 2.02 years | -1.0% |
| 2003 | 2.21 years | +9.6% |
| 2004 | 2.17 years | -2.1% |
| 2005 | 2.1 years | -2.8% |
| 2006 | 2.16 years | +2.4% |
| 2007 | 2.16 years | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 2.17 years | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 2.17 years | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 2.21 years | +2.2% |
| 2011 | 2.11 years | -4.7% |
| 2012 | 2.2 years | +4.2% |
| 2014 | 2.23 years | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 2.36 years | +6.1% |
| 2016 | 2.39 years | +1.1% |
Panama compared with similar countries
- Panama's 2.39 years is below the median for high income countries, which is 3.2 years, 75% of the median. (64 countries reporting)
- Panama's 2.39 years is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 1.95 years, 1.2× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Panama 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | +62.8% | 0.3169 years | 0.5159 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.7373 years | 0.3169 years | 0.9622 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.11 years | 1.01 years | 1.33 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.39 years | 1.05 years | 1.91 years | 9 |
| 2000s | 2.13 years | 2.02 years | 2.21 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.25 years | 2.11 years | 2.39 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Panama
More education data for Panama
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 23,777 (2017)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 10,042 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 47,857 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 46,052 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 311,983 (2017)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 451,308 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.02 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0999 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Panama?
- School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Panama was 2.39 years in 2016, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in Panama?
- The highest recorded value was 2.39 years in 2016.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in Panama?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3169 years in 1970.
- How does Panama rank for school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes?
- Panama ranks 69th out of 183 countries with data for 2016.
- Is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Panama?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Panama 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
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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.