School age population, one year before the official primary entry in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126)

ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126): School age population, one year before the official primary entry was 17.37 million in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
17.37 million
Change on year
up 0.5%
Rank
34th
of 221 groups
All-time high
17.37 million
in 2024
All-time low
4.72 million
in 1970
Years of data
55
1970–2024

School age population, one year before the official primary entry in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126), 1970–2024

5.0M10.0M15.0M197019972024

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Analysis

ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) recorded 17.37 million for school age population, one year before the official primary entry in 2024. That is the highest value across all 55 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 17.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school age population, one year before the official primary entry in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) peaked at 17.37 million in 2024 and was at its lowest, 4.72 million, in 1970.

ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) ranks 34th of 221 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 55 years of available data.

School age population, one year before the official primary entry in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126), year by year

Annual values for School age population, one year before the official primary entry age, female (number) in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126), 1970 to 2024.
Year Value Change
1970 4.72 million
1971 4.84 million +2.6%
1972 4.97 million +2.8%
1973 5.11 million +2.7%
1974 5.26 million +2.9%
1975 5.40 million +2.7%
1976 5.54 million +2.6%
1977 5.69 million +2.7%
1978 5.84 million +2.7%
1979 6.01 million +2.9%
1980 6.18 million +2.8%
1981 6.34 million +2.6%
1982 6.53 million +3.0%
1983 6.73 million +3.0%
1984 6.92 million +2.9%
1985 7.13 million +3.0%
1986 7.30 million +2.4%
1987 7.49 million +2.7%
1988 7.70 million +2.7%
1989 7.89 million +2.6%
1990 8.07 million +2.3%
1991 8.27 million +2.5%
1992 8.47 million +2.3%
1993 8.67 million +2.4%
1994 8.87 million +2.3%
1995 9.08 million +2.4%
1996 9.26 million +2.0%
1997 9.47 million +2.3%
1998 9.72 million +2.6%
1999 9.97 million +2.6%
2000 10.22 million +2.5%
2001 10.48 million +2.5%
2002 10.78 million +2.8%
2003 11.02 million +2.2%
2004 11.27 million +2.3%
2005 11.61 million +3.0%
2006 11.96 million +3.1%
2007 12.28 million +2.6%
2008 12.61 million +2.7%
2009 12.93 million +2.5%
2010 13.28 million +2.7%
2011 13.68 million +3.0%
2012 14.07 million +2.9%
2013 14.46 million +2.8%
2014 14.81 million +2.4%
2015 15.18 million +2.5%
2016 15.47 million +1.9%
2017 15.78 million +2.0%
2018 16.04 million +1.7%
2019 16.29 million +1.5%
2020 16.56 million +1.7%
2021 16.80 million +1.5%
2022 17.01 million +1.2%
2023 17.28 million +1.6%
2024 17.37 million +0.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 5.34 million 4.72 million 6.01 million 10
1980s 7.02 million 6.18 million 7.89 million 10
1990s 8.98 million 8.07 million 9.97 million 10
2000s 11.51 million 10.22 million 12.93 million 10
2010s 14.91 million 13.28 million 16.29 million 10
2020s 17.01 million 16.56 million 17.37 million 5

Countries ranked near ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126)

  1. 31 Myanmar 429,519 compare
  2. 32 Cameroon 422,641 compare
  3. 33 Niger 421,994 compare
  4. 34 Ghana 409,613 compare
  5. 35 Germany 392,390 compare
  6. 36 Côte d'Ivoire 386,556 compare
  7. 37 Mali 383,256 compare

See the full ranking of 443 places →

More education data for ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126)

All data for ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) →

Frequently asked questions

What is school age population, one year before the official primary entry in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126)?
School age population, one year before the official primary entry in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) was 17.37 million in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school age population, one year before the official primary entry recorded in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126)?
The highest recorded value was 17.37 million in 2024.
What is the lowest school age population, one year before the official primary entry recorded in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126)?
The lowest recorded value was 4.72 million in 1970.
How does ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) rank for school age population, one year before the official primary entry?
ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) ranks 34th out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
Is school age population, one year before the official primary entry rising or falling in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126)?
Over the last ten years it is up 17.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School age population, one year before the official primary entry age, female (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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School age population, one year before the official primary entry in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126). Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 03 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/school-age-population-one-year-before-the-official-primary-entry-age-female-number/eca-sub-saharan-africa-unsdcode-98126/

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About this data

Indicator
School age population, one year before the official primary entry age, female (number)
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
443 places, 20,763 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release