School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in European Union

European Union: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female was 17.2 years in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
17.2 years
Change on year
up 0.0%
Rank
1st
of 2 groups
All-time high
17.2 years
in 2019
All-time low
11.85 years
in 1971
Years of data
50
1970–2019

School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in European Union, 1970–2019

051015197019942019

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

Analysis

European Union recorded 17.2 years for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in 2019. That is the highest value across all 50 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 5.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in European Union peaked at 17.2 years in 2019 and was at its lowest, 11.85 years, in 1971.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 50 years of available data.

School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in European Union, year by year

Annual values for School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female (years) in European Union, 1970 to 2019.
Year years Change
1970 11.95 years
1971 11.85 years -0.9%
1972 11.92 years +0.6%
1973 12.07 years +1.2%
1974 12.18 years +0.9%
1975 12.34 years +1.3%
1976 12.46 years +1.0%
1977 12.51 years +0.4%
1978 12.55 years +0.3%
1979 12.54 years -0.1%
1980 12.58 years +0.4%
1981 12.65 years +0.5%
1982 12.69 years +0.3%
1983 12.78 years +0.7%
1984 12.85 years +0.6%
1985 12.95 years +0.7%
1986 13.15 years +1.6%
1987 13.28 years +1.0%
1988 13.36 years +0.5%
1989 13.39 years +0.3%
1990 13.48 years +0.7%
1991 13.64 years +1.2%
1992 13.65 years +0.1%
1993 14.1 years +3.3%
1994 14.47 years +2.6%
1995 14.64 years +1.2%
1996 14.87 years +1.6%
1997 15.07 years +1.4%
1998 15.38 years +2.0%
1999 15.49 years +0.7%
2000 15.64 years +1.0%
2001 15.82 years +1.2%
2002 15.88 years +0.4%
2003 16.01 years +0.8%
2004 16.02 years +0.0%
2005 16.23 years +1.3%
2006 16.24 years +0.1%
2007 16.25 years +0.1%
2008 16.34 years +0.6%
2009 16.38 years +0.3%
2010 16.52 years +0.9%
2011 16.54 years +0.1%
2012 16.52 years -0.1%
2013 17.04 years +3.2%
2014 17.03 years -0.1%
2015 17.04 years +0.1%
2016 17.07 years +0.2%
2017 17.18 years +0.6%
2018 17.2 years +0.1%
2019 17.2 years +0.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 12.24 years 11.85 years 12.55 years 10
1980s 12.97 years 12.58 years 13.39 years 10
1990s 14.48 years 13.48 years 15.49 years 10
2000s 16.08 years 15.64 years 16.38 years 10
2010s 16.93 years 16.52 years 17.2 years 10

Countries ranked near European Union

  1. 1 Australia 21.09 years compare
  2. 2 Sweden 20.71 years compare
  3. 3 Belgium 20.55 years compare
  4. 4 Finland 20.3 years compare

See the full ranking of 220 places →

More gender data for European Union

All data for European Union →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in European Union?
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in European Union was 17.2 years in 2019, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female recorded in European Union?
The highest recorded value was 17.2 years in 2019.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female recorded in European Union?
The lowest recorded value was 11.85 years in 1971.
How does European Union rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female?
European Union ranks 1st out of 2 groups with data for 2019.
Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female rising or falling in European Union?
Over the last ten years it is up 5.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this European Union data come from?
The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in European Union. Statizoid, drawing on Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Retrieved 02 September 2026, from https://gender.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-primary-to-tertiary-female-years/european-union/

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About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female (years)
Unit
years
Source
Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
220 places, 6,052 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Expected years of schooling is the number of years a child of school entrance age is expected to spend at school, or university, including years spent on repetition. It is the sum of the age-specific enrolment ratios for primary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary and tertiary education.