Which has higher secondary education, pupils, Japan or Sub-Saharan Africa?

Sub-Saharan Africa, at 81.43 million against 6.61 million in Japan as of 2024.

What is the difference in secondary education, pupils between Japan and Sub-Saharan Africa?

74.82 million, with Sub-Saharan Africa ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and Sub-Saharan Africa?

39 years are reported by both, from 1971 to 2023.

Where does this data come from?

Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as Secondary education, pupils. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Japan vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Secondary education, pupils

Japan

6.61 million

in 2023

Sub-Saharan Africa

81.43 million

in 2024

Japan rank

19th

Sub-Saharan Africa rank

21st

Secondary education, pupils over time

Japan
Sub-Saharan Africa

How they compare

Sub-Saharan Africa currently reports 81.43 million against 6.61 million in Japan, a difference of 74.82 million.

That makes Sub-Saharan Africa's figure about 12.3 times Japan's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 39 shared years of data; in 1971 it was Japan ahead.

Japan ranks 19th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 21st of 206 countries.

Across the 5 decades both report, Japan averaged higher in 1 and Sub-Saharan Africa in 4.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Japan	Sub-Saharan Africa	Difference	Ahead
1970s	8.85 million	7.05 million	1.81 million	Japan
1980s	10.46 million	13.55 million	3.09 million	Sub-Saharan Africa
1990s	10.11 million	19.06 million	8.95 million	Sub-Saharan Africa
2010s	7.12 million	61.45 million	54.33 million	Sub-Saharan Africa
2020s	6.69 million	76.15 million	69.46 million	Sub-Saharan Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher secondary education, pupils, Japan or Sub-Saharan Africa?: Sub-Saharan Africa, at 81.43 million against 6.61 million in Japan as of 2024.
What is the difference in secondary education, pupils between Japan and Sub-Saharan Africa?: 74.82 million, with Sub-Saharan Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and Sub-Saharan Africa?: 39 years are reported by both, from 1971 to 2023.
How do Japan and Sub-Saharan Africa rank globally for secondary education, pupils?: Japan ranks 19th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 21st of 206 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as Secondary education, pupils. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Japan vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Secondary education, pupils. Statizoid, drawing on Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Retrieved 27 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/compare/secondary-education-pupils/japan/sub-saharan-africa/

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About this data

Indicator: Secondary education, pupils
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 251 places, 10,025 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed: 20 August 2026

Secondary education pupils is the total number of pupils enrolled at secondary level in public and private schools.