School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes was 683,783 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
683,783
Change on year
up 0.9%
World rank
79th
of 222 countries
All-time high
683,783
in 2025
All-time low
158,632
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Sierra Leone, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Sierra Leone is 683,783, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and up 10.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Sierra Leone peaked at 683,783 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 158,632, in 1970.
Sierra Leone ranks 79th of 222 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 158,632 | — |
| 1971 | 162,514 | +2.4% |
| 1972 | 165,970 | +2.1% |
| 1973 | 169,226 | +2.0% |
| 1974 | 172,814 | +2.1% |
| 1975 | 176,524 | +2.1% |
| 1976 | 180,244 | +2.1% |
| 1977 | 184,070 | +2.1% |
| 1978 | 188,937 | +2.6% |
| 1979 | 193,711 | +2.5% |
| 1980 | 197,842 | +2.1% |
| 1981 | 202,378 | +2.3% |
| 1982 | 207,370 | +2.5% |
| 1983 | 212,292 | +2.4% |
| 1984 | 217,052 | +2.2% |
| 1985 | 222,178 | +2.4% |
| 1986 | 227,842 | +2.5% |
| 1987 | 234,680 | +3.0% |
| 1988 | 241,949 | +3.1% |
| 1989 | 249,260 | +3.0% |
| 1990 | 255,732 | +2.6% |
| 1991 | 271,184 | +6.0% |
| 1992 | 263,105 | -3.0% |
| 1993 | 260,944 | -0.8% |
| 1994 | 261,442 | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 263,715 | +0.9% |
| 1996 | 263,962 | +0.1% |
| 1997 | 268,577 | +1.7% |
| 1998 | 402,228 | +49.8% |
| 1999 | 404,960 | +0.7% |
| 2000 | 407,900 | +0.7% |
| 2001 | 427,596 | +4.8% |
| 2002 | 462,500 | +8.2% |
| 2003 | 483,985 | +4.6% |
| 2004 | 503,901 | +4.1% |
| 2005 | 518,584 | +2.9% |
| 2006 | 530,982 | +2.4% |
| 2007 | 538,903 | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 546,271 | +1.4% |
| 2009 | 553,325 | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 564,242 | +2.0% |
| 2011 | 576,889 | +2.2% |
| 2012 | 590,481 | +2.4% |
| 2013 | 601,769 | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 612,436 | +1.8% |
| 2015 | 621,653 | +1.5% |
| 2016 | 629,942 | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 635,971 | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 638,697 | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 639,179 | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 643,282 | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 650,846 | +1.2% |
| 2022 | 660,949 | +1.6% |
| 2023 | 670,140 | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 677,646 | +1.1% |
| 2025 | 683,783 | +0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 175,264 | 158,632 | 193,711 | 10 |
| 1980s | 221,284 | 197,842 | 249,260 | 10 |
| 1990s | 291,585 | 255,732 | 404,960 | 10 |
| 2000s | 497,395 | 407,900 | 553,325 | 10 |
| 2010s | 611,126 | 564,242 | 639,179 | 10 |
| 2020s | 664,441 | 643,282 | 683,783 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More education data for Sierra Leone
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of lower secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,021 tertiary education (2022)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0497 % change on previous year (2014)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 46,575 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Sierra Leone?
- School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Sierra Leone was 683,783 in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 683,783 in 2025.
- What is the lowest school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 158,632 in 1970.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes?
- Sierra Leone ranks 79th out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release