Progression to secondary school, female in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Progression to secondary school, female was 75.9% in 2016. ▲ Rising
Progression to secondary school, female in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1975–2016
Source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2016, progression to secondary school, female in Sub-Saharan Africa stood at 75.9%.
The figure is down 0.5% on the previous year and up 4.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, progression to secondary school, female in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 76.3% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 54.1%, in 1984.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 35th of 40 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 41 years of available data.
Progression to secondary school, female in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 63.6% | — |
| 1976 | 62.8% | -1.3% |
| 1977 | 61.4% | -2.1% |
| 1978 | 60.9% | -0.9% |
| 1979 | 60.6% | -0.4% |
| 1980 | 59.6% | -1.8% |
| 1981 | 56.9% | -4.5% |
| 1982 | 57.0% | +0.1% |
| 1983 | 55.4% | -2.7% |
| 1984 | 54.1% | -2.4% |
| 1985 | 56.6% | +4.6% |
| 1986 | 58.1% | +2.7% |
| 1987 | 58.6% | +0.8% |
| 1988 | 60.4% | +3.1% |
| 1989 | 61.0% | +1.0% |
| 1990 | 61.2% | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 60.5% | -1.1% |
| 1992 | 60.3% | -0.5% |
| 1993 | 59.1% | -1.9% |
| 1994 | 60.0% | +1.4% |
| 1995 | 60.9% | +1.6% |
| 1996 | 61.6% | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 61.4% | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 62.4% | +1.7% |
| 1999 | 61.6% | -1.3% |
| 2000 | 63.2% | +2.6% |
| 2001 | 65.4% | +3.5% |
| 2002 | 66.6% | +1.8% |
| 2004 | 70.4% | +5.7% |
| 2005 | 71.5% | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 72.5% | +1.4% |
| 2007 | 74.2% | +2.3% |
| 2008 | 73.7% | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 74.4% | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 75.2% | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 76.1% | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 75.3% | -1.0% |
| 2013 | 76.0% | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 76.1% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 76.3% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 75.9% | -0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 61.9% | 60.6% | 63.6% | 5 |
| 1980s | 57.8% | 54.1% | 61.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 60.9% | 59.1% | 62.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 70.2% | 63.2% | 74.4% | 9 |
| 2010s | 75.8% | 75.2% | 76.3% | 7 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
- 32 Brunei Darussalam 99.6% compare
- 33 Bahrain 99.6% compare
- 34 Kazakhstan 99.5% compare
- 35 Poland 99.5% compare
- 36 Türkiye 99.5% compare
- 37 Austria 99.5% compare
- 38 Republic of Korea 99.5% compare
More education data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Population ages 15-64 56.4% (2025)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 5.14 million (2024)
- Population ages 0-14 40.4% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 97.1% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 5.14 million (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, per capita 0.004 units per person (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 96.0% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, male 98.2% (2024)
- Labor force, total 526.96 million (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is progression to secondary school, female in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Progression to secondary school, female in Sub-Saharan Africa was 75.9% in 2016, according to Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest progression to secondary school, female recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 76.3% in 2015.
- What is the lowest progression to secondary school, female recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 54.1% in 1984.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for progression to secondary school, female?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 35th out of 40 groups with data for 2016.
- Is progression to secondary school, female rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Progression to secondary school, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 41 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Progression to secondary school refers to the number of new entrants to the first grade of secondary school in a given year as a percentage of the number of students enrolled in the final grade of primary school in the previous year (minus the number of repeaters from the last grade of primary education in the given year).