School age population, early childhood education, female in WB: Sub-saharan Africa

WB: Sub-saharan Africa: School age population, early childhood education, female was 60.58 million in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
60.58 million
Change on year
up 0.8%
Rank
22nd
of 194 groups
All-time high
60.58 million
in 2024
All-time low
37.03 million
in 1997
Years of data
28
1997–2024

School age population, early childhood education, female in WB: Sub-saharan Africa, 1997–2024

020.0M40.0M60.0M1997201020241997: 37.0M1998: 39.3M1999: 38.2M2000: 39.1M2001: 39.8M2002: 40.3M2003: 41.2M2004: 41.8M2005: 43.0M2006: 44.1M2007: 44.5M2008: 45.7M2009: 46.9M2010: 48.3M2011: 49.5M2012: 50.8M2013: 52.1M2014: 53.1M2015: 54.1M2016: 55.6M2017: 57.0M2018: 57.7M2019: 58.4M2020: 58.4M2021: 59.1M2022: 59.3M2023: 60.1M2024: 60.6M

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Analysis

In 2024, school age population, early childhood education, female in WB: Sub-saharan Africa stood at 60.58 million. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 14.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school age population, early childhood education, female in WB: Sub-saharan Africa peaked at 60.58 million in 2024 and was at its lowest, 37.03 million, in 1997.

WB: Sub-saharan Africa ranks 22nd of 194 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.

School age population, early childhood education, female in WB: Sub-saharan Africa, year by year

Annual values for School age population, early childhood education, female (number) in WB: Sub-saharan Africa, 1997 to 2024.
Year Value Change
1997 37.03 million
1998 39.35 million +6.3%
1999 38.22 million -2.9%
2000 39.08 million +2.3%
2001 39.84 million +1.9%
2002 40.25 million +1.0%
2003 41.22 million +2.4%
2004 41.78 million +1.4%
2005 42.95 million +2.8%
2006 44.13 million +2.7%
2007 44.47 million +0.8%
2008 45.66 million +2.7%
2009 46.89 million +2.7%
2010 48.26 million +2.9%
2011 49.54 million +2.7%
2012 50.82 million +2.6%
2013 52.05 million +2.4%
2014 53.09 million +2.0%
2015 54.14 million +2.0%
2016 55.55 million +2.6%
2017 57.03 million +2.7%
2018 57.73 million +1.2%
2019 58.39 million +1.1%
2020 58.38 million -0.0%
2021 59.08 million +1.2%
2022 59.30 million +0.4%
2023 60.10 million +1.4%
2024 60.58 million +0.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 38.20 million 37.03 million 39.35 million 3
2000s 42.63 million 39.08 million 46.89 million 10
2010s 53.66 million 48.26 million 58.39 million 10
2020s 59.49 million 58.38 million 60.58 million 5

Countries ranked near WB: Sub-saharan Africa

  1. 19 Colombia 2.20 million compare
  2. 20 Myanmar 2.13 million compare
  3. 21 Ghana 2.08 million compare
  4. 22 Kenya 2.07 million compare
  5. 23 Angola 1.82 million compare
  6. 24 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 1.75 million compare
  7. 25 Thailand 1.69 million compare

See the full ranking of 401 places →

More education data for WB: Sub-saharan Africa

All data for WB: Sub-saharan Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is school age population, early childhood education, female in WB: Sub-saharan Africa?
School age population, early childhood education, female in WB: Sub-saharan Africa was 60.58 million in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school age population, early childhood education, female recorded in WB: Sub-saharan Africa?
The highest recorded value was 60.58 million in 2024.
What is the lowest school age population, early childhood education, female recorded in WB: Sub-saharan Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 37.03 million in 1997.
How does WB: Sub-saharan Africa rank for school age population, early childhood education, female?
WB: Sub-saharan Africa ranks 22nd out of 194 groups with data for 2024.
Is school age population, early childhood education, female rising or falling in WB: Sub-saharan Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 14.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this WB: Sub-saharan Africa data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School age population, early childhood education, 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).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

School age population, early childhood education, female in WB: Sub-saharan Africa. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/school-age-population-early-childhood-education-female-number-2/wb-sub-saharan-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/school-age-population-early-childhood-education-female-number-2/wb-sub-saharan-africa/">School age population, early childhood education, female in WB: Sub-saharan Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
School age population, early childhood education, female (number)
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
401 places, 9,806 data points, 1971–2025
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release