School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa
SDG: Sub-saharan Africa: School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes was 7.74 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
7.74 years
Change on year
up 0.2%
Rank
169th
of 221 groups
All-time high
7.78 years
in 2020
All-time low
5.53 years
in 1997
Years of data
28
1997–2024
School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa, 1997–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
SDG: Sub-saharan Africa recorded 7.74 years for school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in 2024.
The figure 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 SDG: Sub-saharan Africa peaked at 7.78 years in 2020 and was at its lowest, 5.53 years, in 1997.
That places SDG: Sub-saharan Africa 169th 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 SDG: Sub-saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 5.53 years | — |
| 1998 | 5.71 years | +3.2% |
| 1999 | 5.8 years | +1.5% |
| 2000 | 6 years | +3.5% |
| 2001 | 6.1 years | +1.8% |
| 2002 | 6.31 years | +3.4% |
| 2003 | 6.52 years | +3.3% |
| 2004 | 6.78 years | +4.0% |
| 2005 | 7 years | +3.2% |
| 2006 | 7.16 years | +2.4% |
| 2007 | 7.19 years | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 7.33 years | +2.0% |
| 2009 | 7.42 years | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 7.49 years | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 7.61 years | +1.6% |
| 2012 | 7.66 years | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 7.73 years | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 7.7 years | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 7.59 years | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 7.61 years | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 7.64 years | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 7.66 years | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 7.73 years | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 7.78 years | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 7.65 years | -1.6% |
| 2022 | 7.68 years | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 7.73 years | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 7.74 years | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5.68 years | 5.53 years | 5.8 years | 3 |
| 2000s | 6.78 years | 6 years | 7.42 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.64 years | 7.49 years | 7.73 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.72 years | 7.65 years | 7.78 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near SDG: Sub-saharan Africa
- 166 El Salvador 7.79 years compare
- 167 Kenya 7.79 years compare
- 168 Serbia 7.67 years compare
- 169 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 7.62 years compare
- 170 Romania 7.59 years compare
- 171 Bangladesh 7.57 years compare
- 172 Suriname 7.54 years compare
More education data for SDG: Sub-saharan Africa
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 191.30 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.31 % change on previous year (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 14.32 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 1.68 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 37.60 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 12.63 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 12.47 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 0.8202 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 4.94 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 97.68 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa?
- School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa was 7.74 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes recorded in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 7.78 years in 2020.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes recorded in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.53 years in 1997.
- How does SDG: Sub-saharan Africa rank for school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes?
- SDG: Sub-saharan Africa ranks 169th out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes rising or falling in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this SDG: Sub-saharan Africa 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