School age population, tertiary education, female in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: School age population, tertiary education, female was 47.21 million number in 2019. ▲ Rising
Latest (2019)
47.21 million number
Change on year
up 0.6%
Rank
16th
of 43 groups
All-time high
47.21 million number
in 2019
All-time low
13.42 million number
in 1970
Years of data
50
1970–2019
School age population, tertiary education, female in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1970–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 47.21 million number for school age population, tertiary education, female in 2019. That is the highest value across all 50 years on record.
The figure is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 19.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, tertiary education, female in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 47.21 million number in 2019 and was at its lowest, 13.42 million number, in 1970.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa 16th out of 43 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 50 years of available data.
School age population, tertiary education, female in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | number | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 13.42 million number | — |
| 1971 | 13.77 million number | +2.6% |
| 1972 | 14.10 million number | +2.4% |
| 1973 | 14.46 million number | +2.5% |
| 1974 | 14.84 million number | +2.6% |
| 1975 | 15.25 million number | +2.8% |
| 1976 | 15.67 million number | +2.7% |
| 1977 | 16.09 million number | +2.7% |
| 1978 | 16.53 million number | +2.7% |
| 1979 | 16.99 million number | +2.8% |
| 1980 | 17.46 million number | +2.8% |
| 1981 | 17.93 million number | +2.7% |
| 1982 | 18.38 million number | +2.5% |
| 1983 | 18.85 million number | +2.5% |
| 1984 | 19.30 million number | +2.4% |
| 1985 | 19.81 million number | +2.7% |
| 1986 | 20.46 million number | +3.3% |
| 1987 | 20.98 million number | +2.6% |
| 1988 | 21.57 million number | +2.8% |
| 1989 | 22.27 million number | +3.2% |
| 1990 | 22.98 million number | +3.2% |
| 1991 | 23.73 million number | +3.3% |
| 1992 | 24.46 million number | +3.1% |
| 1993 | 25.21 million number | +3.1% |
| 1994 | 25.95 million number | +3.0% |
| 1995 | 26.74 million number | +3.0% |
| 1996 | 27.55 million number | +3.0% |
| 1997 | 28.30 million number | +2.7% |
| 1998 | 29.15 million number | +3.0% |
| 1999 | 30.03 million number | +3.0% |
| 2000 | 31.00 million number | +3.2% |
| 2001 | 32.00 million number | +3.2% |
| 2002 | 32.95 million number | +3.0% |
| 2003 | 33.93 million number | +3.0% |
| 2004 | 34.95 million number | +3.0% |
| 2005 | 35.93 million number | +2.8% |
| 2006 | 36.91 million number | +2.7% |
| 2007 | 37.79 million number | +2.4% |
| 2008 | 38.73 million number | +2.5% |
| 2009 | 39.66 million number | +2.4% |
| 2010 | 40.61 million number | +2.4% |
| 2011 | 41.62 million number | +2.5% |
| 2012 | 42.60 million number | +2.4% |
| 2013 | 43.70 million number | +2.6% |
| 2014 | 44.85 million number | +2.6% |
| 2015 | 45.49 million number | +1.4% |
| 2016 | 46.08 million number | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 46.54 million number | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 46.93 million number | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 47.21 million number | +0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 15.11 million number | 13.42 million number | 16.99 million number | 10 |
| 1980s | 19.70 million number | 17.46 million number | 22.27 million number | 10 |
| 1990s | 26.41 million number | 22.98 million number | 30.03 million number | 10 |
| 2000s | 35.39 million number | 31.00 million number | 39.66 million number | 10 |
| 2010s | 44.56 million number | 40.61 million number | 47.21 million number | 10 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
- 13 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 3.51 million number compare
- 14 Russian Federation 3.34 million number compare
- 15 Viet Nam 3.34 million number compare
- 16 Türkiye 3.28 million number compare
- 17 Iran 2.86 million number compare
- 18 Kenya 2.63 million number compare
- 19 Myanmar 2.48 million number compare
More education data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 5.14 million (2024)
- Population ages 0-14 40.4% (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 56.4% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 97.1% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 5.14 million (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, per capita 0.004 units per person (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 96.0% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, male 98.2% (2024)
- Labor force, total 526.96 million (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, tertiary education, female in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- School age population, tertiary education, female in Sub-Saharan Africa was 47.21 million number in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, tertiary education, female recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 47.21 million number in 2019.
- What is the lowest school age population, tertiary education, female recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.42 million number in 1970.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for school age population, tertiary education, female?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 16th out of 43 groups with data for 2019.
- Is school age population, tertiary education, female rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 19.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School age population, tertiary education, female (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 50 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Female population of the age-group theoretically corresponding to tertiary education as indicated by theoretical entrance age and duration.