School age population, early childhood education, both sexes in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa
SDG: Sub-saharan Africa: School age population, early childhood education, both sexes was 119.61 million in 2024. ▲ Rising
School age population, early childhood education, both sexes in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa, 1997–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
SDG: Sub-saharan Africa recorded 119.61 million for school age population, early childhood education, both sexes in 2024. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 14.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, early childhood education, both sexes in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa peaked at 119.61 million in 2024 and was at its lowest, 73.01 million, in 1997.
SDG: Sub-saharan Africa ranks 26th of 194 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
School age population, early childhood education, both sexes in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 73.01 million | — |
| 1998 | 77.67 million | +6.4% |
| 2014 | 104.93 million | +35.1% |
| 2015 | 107.00 million | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 109.83 million | +2.6% |
| 2017 | 112.80 million | +2.7% |
| 2018 | 114.18 million | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 115.46 million | +1.1% |
| 2020 | 115.38 million | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 116.69 million | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 117.07 million | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 118.64 million | +1.3% |
| 2024 | 119.61 million | +0.8% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School age population, early childhood education, both sexes in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | +35.1% | 77.67 million | 104.93 million |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 75.34 million | 73.01 million | 77.67 million | 2 |
| 2010s | 110.70 million | 104.93 million | 115.46 million | 6 |
| 2020s | 117.48 million | 115.38 million | 119.61 million | 5 |
Countries ranked near SDG: Sub-saharan Africa
- 23 Angola 3.66 million compare
- 24 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 3.58 million compare
- 25 Thailand 3.46 million compare
- 26 Mozambique 3.33 million compare
- 27 Uzbekistan 3.25 million compare
- 28 Peru 3.22 million compare
- 29 Argentina 3.16 million compare
More education data for SDG: Sub-saharan Africa
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 191.30 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.31 % change on previous year (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 14.32 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 1.68 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 37.60 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 12.63 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 12.47 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 0.8202 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 4.94 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 97.68 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, early childhood education, both sexes in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa?
- School age population, early childhood education, both sexes in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa was 119.61 million in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, early childhood education, both sexes recorded in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 119.61 million in 2024.
- What is the lowest school age population, early childhood education, both sexes recorded in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 73.01 million in 1997.
- How does SDG: Sub-saharan Africa rank for school age population, early childhood education, both sexes?
- SDG: Sub-saharan Africa ranks 26th out of 194 groups with data for 2024.
- Is school age population, early childhood education, both sexes rising or falling in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this SDG: Sub-saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School age population, early childhood education, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release