School age population, early childhood … age both sexes educational in ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405)
ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405): School age population, early childhood … age both sexes educational was 35.98 million in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
35.98 million
Change on year
up 1.2%
Rank
18th
of 187 groups
All-time high
36.46 million
in 2021
All-time low
25.48 million
in 1998
Years of data
27
1998–2024
School age population, early childhood educational development in ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405), 1998–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405) recorded 35.98 million for school age population, early childhood educational development in 2024.
The figure is up 1.2% on the previous year and up 5.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, early childhood educational development in ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405) peaked at 36.46 million in 2021 and was at its lowest, 25.48 million, in 1998.
That places ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405) 18th out of 187 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
School age population, early childhood … age both sexes educational in ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405), year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 25.48 million | — |
| 1999 | 26.26 million | +3.1% |
| 2000 | 26.70 million | +1.7% |
| 2001 | 26.94 million | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 26.46 million | -1.8% |
| 2003 | 27.11 million | +2.4% |
| 2004 | 26.79 million | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 27.56 million | +2.9% |
| 2006 | 28.31 million | +2.7% |
| 2007 | 29.08 million | +2.7% |
| 2008 | 29.81 million | +2.5% |
| 2009 | 30.58 million | +2.6% |
| 2010 | 31.41 million | +2.7% |
| 2011 | 32.07 million | +2.1% |
| 2012 | 32.78 million | +2.2% |
| 2013 | 33.44 million | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 34.02 million | +1.7% |
| 2015 | 34.57 million | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 35.96 million | +4.0% |
| 2017 | 36.24 million | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 36.35 million | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 36.41 million | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 36.44 million | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 36.46 million | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 35.50 million | -2.6% |
| 2023 | 35.56 million | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 35.98 million | +1.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 25.87 million | 25.48 million | 26.26 million | 2 |
| 2000s | 27.93 million | 26.46 million | 30.58 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 34.32 million | 31.41 million | 36.41 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 35.99 million | 35.50 million | 36.46 million | 5 |
Countries ranked near ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405)
More education data for ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 1.99 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 50.51 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 2.35 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 54.20 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.87 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 29.65 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 2.01 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 19.22 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 3.29 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 9.24 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, early childhood educational development in ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405)?
- School age population, early childhood educational development in ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405) was 35.98 million in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, early childhood educational development recorded in ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405)?
- The highest recorded value was 36.46 million in 2021.
- What is the lowest school age population, early childhood educational development recorded in ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405)?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.48 million in 1998.
- How does ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405) rank for school age population, early childhood educational development?
- ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405) ranks 18th out of 187 groups with data for 2024.
- Is school age population, early childhood educational development rising or falling in ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405) data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School age population, early childhood educational development programmes, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release