Population of compulsory school age, female in UNICEF: West and Central Africa
UNICEF: West and Central Africa: Population of compulsory school age, female was 65.01 million in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
65.01 million
Change on year
up 0.1%
Rank
91st
of 221 groups
All-time high
65.01 million
in 2024
All-time low
16.99 million
in 1997
Years of data
28
1997–2024
Population of compulsory school age, female in UNICEF: West and Central Africa, 1997–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
UNICEF: West and Central Africa recorded 65.01 million for population of compulsory school age, female in 2024. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 27.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population of compulsory school age, female in UNICEF: West and Central Africa peaked at 65.01 million in 2024 and was at its lowest, 16.99 million, in 1997.
UNICEF: West and Central Africa ranks 91st of 221 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Population of compulsory school age, female in UNICEF: West and Central Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 16.99 million | — |
| 1998 | 16.99 million | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 17.46 million | +2.8% |
| 2000 | 17.93 million | +2.7% |
| 2001 | 18.77 million | +4.7% |
| 2002 | 19.28 million | +2.7% |
| 2003 | 20.04 million | +3.9% |
| 2004 | 37.57 million | +87.5% |
| 2005 | 38.53 million | +2.6% |
| 2006 | 40.08 million | +4.0% |
| 2007 | 41.90 million | +4.5% |
| 2008 | 43.09 million | +2.8% |
| 2009 | 44.24 million | +2.7% |
| 2010 | 45.47 million | +2.8% |
| 2011 | 46.73 million | +2.8% |
| 2012 | 48.06 million | +2.8% |
| 2013 | 49.45 million | +2.9% |
| 2014 | 50.94 million | +3.0% |
| 2015 | 52.56 million | +3.2% |
| 2016 | 54.18 million | +3.1% |
| 2017 | 55.84 million | +3.1% |
| 2018 | 57.49 million | +3.0% |
| 2019 | 59.09 million | +2.8% |
| 2020 | 60.65 million | +2.6% |
| 2021 | 62.20 million | +2.5% |
| 2022 | 63.63 million | +2.3% |
| 2023 | 64.95 million | +2.1% |
| 2024 | 65.01 million | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 17.15 million | 16.99 million | 17.46 million | 3 |
| 2000s | 32.14 million | 17.93 million | 44.24 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 51.98 million | 45.47 million | 59.09 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 63.29 million | 60.65 million | 65.01 million | 5 |
Countries ranked near UNICEF: West and Central Africa
- 88 El Salvador 766,604 compare
- 89 Kyrgyzstan 750,075 compare
- 90 Haiti 728,571 compare
- 91 Lao People's Democratic Republic 686,471 compare
- 92 Azerbaijan 684,770 compare
- 93 United Arab Emirates 677,594 compare
- 94 Palestine, State of 670,486 compare
More education data for UNICEF: West and Central Africa
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) 4.92 % change on previous year (2021)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 20.41 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 0.9224 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 22.91 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 0.5411 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 8.34 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 0.9535 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 5.20 million (2021)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.46 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 5.73 % change on previous year (2021)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population of compulsory school age, female in UNICEF: West and Central Africa?
- Population of compulsory school age, female in UNICEF: West and Central Africa was 65.01 million in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest population of compulsory school age, female recorded in UNICEF: West and Central Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 65.01 million in 2024.
- What is the lowest population of compulsory school age, female recorded in UNICEF: West and Central Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.99 million in 1997.
- How does UNICEF: West and Central Africa rank for population of compulsory school age, female?
- UNICEF: West and Central Africa ranks 91st out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
- Is population of compulsory school age, female rising or falling in UNICEF: West and Central Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 27.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this UNICEF: West and Central Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Population of compulsory school age, female (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release