Persistence to last grade of primary, total in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries): Persistence to last grade of primary, total was 61.5% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Persistence to last grade of primary, total in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), 1970–2023
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % of cohort.
Analysis
The most recent figure for persistence to last grade of primary, total in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) is 61.5%, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 0.8% on the previous year and up 10.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, persistence to last grade of primary, total in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) peaked at 66.6% in 1986 and was at its lowest, 55.6%, in 2013.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) 38th out of 45 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 54 years of available data.
Persistence to last grade of primary, total in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), year by year
| Year | % of cohort | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 61.4% | — |
| 1971 | 62.4% | +1.6% |
| 1972 | 62.4% | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 63.7% | +2.2% |
| 1974 | 64.8% | +1.6% |
| 1975 | 64.1% | -1.1% |
| 1976 | 64.6% | +0.8% |
| 1977 | 65.5% | +1.4% |
| 1978 | 64.9% | -0.9% |
| 1979 | 65.1% | +0.4% |
| 1980 | 65.0% | -0.2% |
| 1981 | 65.1% | +0.2% |
| 1982 | 66.2% | +1.6% |
| 1983 | 66.0% | -0.2% |
| 1984 | 66.0% | -0.0% |
| 1985 | 66.3% | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 66.6% | +0.4% |
| 1987 | 65.8% | -1.2% |
| 1988 | 64.8% | -1.5% |
| 1989 | 65.0% | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 65.5% | +0.8% |
| 1991 | 64.9% | -0.9% |
| 1992 | 66.1% | +1.8% |
| 1993 | 65.3% | -1.2% |
| 1994 | 63.8% | -2.4% |
| 1995 | 64.2% | +0.6% |
| 1996 | 62.5% | -2.6% |
| 1997 | 62.3% | -0.3% |
| 1998 | 62.6% | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 62.4% | -0.3% |
| 2000 | 64.1% | +2.7% |
| 2001 | 65.6% | +2.4% |
| 2002 | 63.7% | -2.9% |
| 2003 | 61.3% | -3.8% |
| 2004 | 62.0% | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 62.4% | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 58.3% | -6.5% |
| 2007 | 57.1% | -2.2% |
| 2008 | 60.5% | +6.1% |
| 2009 | 56.4% | -6.9% |
| 2010 | 55.6% | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 57.6% | +3.5% |
| 2012 | 55.9% | -2.8% |
| 2013 | 55.6% | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 56.1% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 57.2% | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 57.5% | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 59.3% | +3.1% |
| 2018 | 60.2% | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 61.2% | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 62.6% | +2.3% |
| 2021 | 62.3% | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 62.0% | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 61.5% | -0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 63.9% | 61.4% | 65.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 65.7% | 64.8% | 66.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 64.0% | 62.3% | 66.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 61.1% | 56.4% | 65.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 57.6% | 55.6% | 61.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 62.1% | 61.5% | 62.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
More education data for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 196.80 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 81.43 million (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 5.14 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 40.4% (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9738 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1526 units per person (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 56.4% (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is persistence to last grade of primary, total in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Persistence to last grade of primary, total in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) was 61.5% in 2023, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest persistence to last grade of primary, total recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The highest recorded value was 66.6% in 1986.
- What is the lowest persistence to last grade of primary, total recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The lowest recorded value was 55.6% in 2013.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) rank for persistence to last grade of primary, total?
- Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 38th out of 45 groups with data for 2023.
- Is persistence to last grade of primary, total rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Persistence to last grade of primary, total (% of cohort). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 54 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Persistence to last grade of primary is the percentage of children enrolled in the first grade of primary school who eventually reach the last grade of primary education. The estimate is based on the reconstructed cohort method.