School age population, primary education, both sexes in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: School age population, primary education, both sexes was 1.29 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
1.29 million
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
82nd
of 222 countries
All-time high
1.29 million
in 2025
All-time low
464,282
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Sierra Leone, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Sierra Leone recorded 1.29 million for school age population, primary education, both sexes in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 14.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, primary education, both sexes in Sierra Leone peaked at 1.29 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 464,282, in 1970.
That places Sierra Leone 82nd out of 222 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 464,282 | — |
| 1971 | 477,029 | +2.7% |
| 1972 | 489,474 | +2.6% |
| 1973 | 502,071 | +2.6% |
| 1974 | 514,250 | +2.4% |
| 1975 | 526,115 | +2.3% |
| 1976 | 537,788 | +2.2% |
| 1977 | 549,158 | +2.1% |
| 1978 | 561,538 | +2.3% |
| 1979 | 574,202 | +2.3% |
| 1980 | 587,772 | +2.4% |
| 1981 | 602,171 | +2.4% |
| 1982 | 616,814 | +2.4% |
| 1983 | 632,186 | +2.5% |
| 1984 | 648,753 | +2.6% |
| 1985 | 665,577 | +2.6% |
| 1986 | 682,693 | +2.6% |
| 1987 | 702,531 | +2.9% |
| 1988 | 723,524 | +3.0% |
| 1989 | 745,234 | +3.0% |
| 1990 | 764,984 | +2.7% |
| 1991 | 810,527 | +6.0% |
| 1992 | 787,968 | -2.8% |
| 1993 | 785,668 | -0.3% |
| 1994 | 789,147 | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 795,161 | +0.8% |
| 1996 | 794,563 | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 678,819 | -14.6% |
| 1998 | 688,972 | +1.5% |
| 1999 | 694,893 | +0.9% |
| 2000 | 700,260 | +0.8% |
| 2001 | 732,980 | +4.7% |
| 2002 | 790,076 | +7.8% |
| 2003 | 827,012 | +4.7% |
| 2004 | 862,701 | +4.3% |
| 2005 | 892,119 | +3.4% |
| 2006 | 917,731 | +2.9% |
| 2007 | 938,980 | +2.3% |
| 2008 | 965,355 | +2.8% |
| 2009 | 992,268 | +2.8% |
| 2010 | 1.02 million | +2.8% |
| 2011 | 1.04 million | +2.2% |
| 2012 | 1.06 million | +2.0% |
| 2013 | 1.09 million | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 1.11 million | +2.0% |
| 2015 | 1.13 million | +1.9% |
| 2016 | 1.15 million | +1.9% |
| 2017 | 1.17 million | +2.1% |
| 2018 | 1.20 million | +2.0% |
| 2019 | 1.22 million | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 1.23 million | +1.4% |
| 2021 | 1.25 million | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 1.26 million | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 1.27 million | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 1.28 million | +0.8% |
| 2025 | 1.29 million | +0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 519,591 | 464,282 | 574,202 | 10 |
| 1980s | 660,726 | 587,772 | 745,234 | 10 |
| 1990s | 759,070 | 678,819 | 810,527 | 10 |
| 2000s | 861,948 | 700,260 | 992,268 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.12 million | 1.02 million | 1.22 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.26 million | 1.23 million | 1.29 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More education data for Sierra Leone
- 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)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 59.1% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 37.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, primary education, both sexes in Sierra Leone?
- School age population, primary education, both sexes in Sierra Leone was 1.29 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 1.29 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 464,282 in 1970.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for school age population, primary education, both sexes?
- Sierra Leone ranks 82nd out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.1%. 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, 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