School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes was 10.45 years in 2017. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Sierra Leone, 1971–2017
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Sierra Leone is 10.45 years, measured in 2017. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.3% on the previous year and up 12.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Sierra Leone peaked at 10.45 years in 2017 and was at its lowest, 3.09 years, in 1973.
That places Sierra Leone 140th out of 197 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 3.1 years | — |
| 1972 | 3.21 years | +3.7% |
| 1973 | 3.09 years | -3.8% |
| 1974 | 3.23 years | +4.5% |
| 1975 | 3.32 years | +2.7% |
| 1976 | 3.47 years | +4.5% |
| 1977 | 3.58 years | +3.2% |
| 1978 | 3.62 years | +1.3% |
| 1980 | 4.35 years | +20.0% |
| 1981 | 4.48 years | +3.1% |
| 1984 | 5.12 years | +14.4% |
| 1985 | 5.44 years | +6.1% |
| 1986 | 5.28 years | -3.0% |
| 1988 | 5.13 years | -2.7% |
| 1989 | 4.58 years | -10.7% |
| 1990 | 4.44 years | -3.1% |
| 1991 | 4.17 years | -6.1% |
| 2001 | 5.82 years | +39.8% |
| 2011 | 9.29 years | +59.4% |
| 2012 | 9.69 years | +4.3% |
| 2013 | 9.82 years | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 9.82 years | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 10.02 years | +2.0% |
| 2017 | 10.45 years | +4.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3.33 years | 3.09 years | 3.62 years | 8 |
| 1980s | 4.91 years | 4.35 years | 5.44 years | 7 |
| 1990s | 4.3 years | 4.17 years | 4.44 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 5.82 years | 5.82 years | 5.82 years | 1 |
| 2010s | 9.85 years | 9.29 years | 10.45 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More education data for Sierra Leone
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 1.44 % change on previous year (2002)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 15,753 (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 30,822 (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 2,602 (2002)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 2.2 % change on previous year (2002)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 6,439 (2002)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) 1.13 % change on previous year (2002)
- Theoretical duration of primary education (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Sierra Leone?
- School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Sierra Leone was 10.45 years in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 10.45 years in 2017.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.09 years in 1973.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes?
- Sierra Leone ranks 140th out of 197 countries with data for 2017.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.5%. 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 life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Number of years a person of school entrance age can expect to spend within the specified level of education. For a child of a certain age a, the school life expectancy is calculated as the sum of the age specific enrolment rates for the levels of education specified. The part of the enrolment that is not distributed by age is divided by the school-age population for the level of education they are enrolled in, and multiplied by the duration of that level of education. The result is then added to the sum of the age-specific enrolment rates. A relatively high SLE indicates greater probability for children to spend more years in education and higher overall retention within the education system. It must be noted that the expected number of years does not necessarily coincide with the expected number of grades of education completed, because of repetition. Since school life expectancy is an average based on participation in different levels of education, the expected number of years of schooling may be pulled down by the magnitude of children who never go to school. Those children who are in school may benefit from many more years of education than the average.