School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126)
ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126): School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes was 7.65 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126), 1997–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2024, school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) stood at 7.65 years.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 0.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) peaked at 7.69 years in 2020 and was at its lowest, 5.47 years, in 1997.
That places ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) 189th out of 221 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126), year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 5.47 years | — |
| 1998 | 5.64 years | +3.1% |
| 1999 | 5.73 years | +1.5% |
| 2000 | 5.92 years | +3.4% |
| 2001 | 6.02 years | +1.8% |
| 2002 | 6.22 years | +3.3% |
| 2003 | 6.43 years | +3.3% |
| 2004 | 6.68 years | +3.9% |
| 2005 | 6.89 years | +3.2% |
| 2006 | 7.06 years | +2.4% |
| 2007 | 7.09 years | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 7.24 years | +2.2% |
| 2009 | 7.33 years | +1.1% |
| 2010 | 7.39 years | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 7.5 years | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 7.56 years | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 7.63 years | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 7.6 years | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 7.49 years | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 7.52 years | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 7.55 years | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 7.58 years | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 7.64 years | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 7.69 years | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 7.57 years | -1.6% |
| 2022 | 7.59 years | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 7.64 years | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 7.65 years | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5.61 years | 5.47 years | 5.73 years | 3 |
| 2000s | 6.69 years | 5.92 years | 7.33 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.55 years | 7.39 years | 7.64 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.63 years | 7.57 years | 7.69 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126)
More education data for ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 10.51 million (2021)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 1.61 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 42.27 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.26 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 26.34 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 1.59 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 2.53 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 4.62 million (2021)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 2.59 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 38.99 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126)?
- School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) was 7.65 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes recorded in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126)?
- The highest recorded value was 7.69 years in 2020.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes recorded in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126)?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.47 years in 1997.
- How does ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) rank for school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes?
- ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) ranks 189th out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes rising or falling in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.6%. 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 life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release