Secondary education, duration in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Secondary education, duration was 8 years in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
8 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
3rd
of 209 countries
All-time high
8 years
in 1998
All-time low
7 years
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025

Secondary education, duration in Sri Lanka, 1970–2025

02468197019972025

Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2025, secondary education, duration in Sri Lanka stood at 8 years. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, secondary education, duration in Sri Lanka peaked at 8 years in 1998 and was at its lowest, 7 years, in 1970.

Sri Lanka ranks 3rd of 209 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.

Secondary education, duration in Sri Lanka, year by year

Annual values for Secondary education, duration (years) in Sri Lanka, 1970 to 2025.
Year years Change
1970 7 years
1971 7 years +0.0%
1972 7 years +0.0%
1973 7 years +0.0%
1974 7 years +0.0%
1975 7 years +0.0%
1976 7 years +0.0%
1977 7 years +0.0%
1978 7 years +0.0%
1979 7 years +0.0%
1980 7 years +0.0%
1981 7 years +0.0%
1982 7 years +0.0%
1983 7 years +0.0%
1984 7 years +0.0%
1985 7 years +0.0%
1986 7 years +0.0%
1987 7 years +0.0%
1988 7 years +0.0%
1989 7 years +0.0%
1990 7 years +0.0%
1991 7 years +0.0%
1992 7 years +0.0%
1993 7 years +0.0%
1994 7 years +0.0%
1995 7 years +0.0%
1996 7 years +0.0%
1997 7 years +0.0%
1998 8 years +14.3%
1999 8 years +0.0%
2000 8 years +0.0%
2001 8 years +0.0%
2002 8 years +0.0%
2003 8 years +0.0%
2004 8 years +0.0%
2005 8 years +0.0%
2006 8 years +0.0%
2007 8 years +0.0%
2008 8 years +0.0%
2009 8 years +0.0%
2010 8 years +0.0%
2011 8 years +0.0%
2012 8 years +0.0%
2013 8 years +0.0%
2014 8 years +0.0%
2015 8 years +0.0%
2016 8 years +0.0%
2017 8 years +0.0%
2018 8 years +0.0%
2019 8 years +0.0%
2020 8 years +0.0%
2021 8 years +0.0%
2022 8 years +0.0%
2023 8 years +0.0%
2024 8 years +0.0%
2025 8 years +0.0%

Sri Lanka compared with similar countries

  • Sri Lanka's 8 years is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 6 years, 1.3× the median. (58 countries reporting)
  • Sri Lanka's 8 years is above the median for South Asia, which is 7 years, 1.1× the median. (6 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 7 years 7 years 7 years 10
1980s 7 years 7 years 7 years 10
1990s 7.2 years 7 years 8 years 10
2000s 8 years 8 years 8 years 10
2010s 8 years 8 years 8 years 10
2020s 8 years 8 years 8 years 6

Countries ranked near Sri Lanka

  1. 1 Germany 9 years compare
  2. 1 Slovakia 9 years compare
  3. 3 Armenia 8 years compare
  4. 3 Austria 8 years compare
  5. 3 Bosnia and Herzegovina 8 years compare
  6. 3 Bulgaria 8 years compare
  7. 3 Croatia 8 years compare
  8. 3 Czechia 8 years compare
  9. 3 Hungary 8 years compare
  10. 3 Italy 8 years compare
  11. 3 Lithuania 8 years compare
  12. 3 Moldova 8 years compare
  13. 3 Montenegro 8 years compare
  14. 3 North Macedonia 8 years compare
  15. 3 Oman 8 years compare
  16. 3 Poland 8 years compare
  17. 3 Romania 8 years compare
  18. 3 San Marino 8 years compare
  19. 3 Serbia 8 years compare
  20. 3 Somalia 8 years compare
  21. 3 Turkey 8 years compare
  22. 3 Turkmenistan 8 years compare
  23. 3 United Arab Emirates 8 years compare
  24. 3 Palestine 8 years compare

See the full ranking of 255 places →

More education data for Sri Lanka

All data for Sri Lanka →

Frequently asked questions

What is secondary education, duration in Sri Lanka?
Secondary education, duration in Sri Lanka was 8 years in 2025, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
What is the highest secondary education, duration recorded in Sri Lanka?
The highest recorded value was 8 years in 1998.
What is the lowest secondary education, duration recorded in Sri Lanka?
The lowest recorded value was 7 years in 1970.
How does Sri Lanka rank for secondary education, duration?
Sri Lanka ranks 3rd out of 209 countries with data for 2025.
Is secondary education, duration rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Secondary education, duration (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Secondary education, duration in Sri Lanka. Statizoid, drawing on Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/secondary-education-duration-years/sri-lanka/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/secondary-education-duration-years/sri-lanka/">Secondary education, duration in Sri Lanka</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Secondary education, duration (years)
Unit
years
Source
Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
255 places, 13,986 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

Secondary duration refers to the number of grades (years) in secondary school.