School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa
UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female was 8.59 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
8.59 years
Change on year
up 0.3%
Rank
187th
of 221 groups
All-time high
8.59 years
in 2024
All-time low
3.47 years
in 1970
Years of data
55
1970–2024
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa is 8.59 years, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 55 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa peaked at 8.59 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 3.47 years, in 1970.
UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa ranks 187th of 221 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 55 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 3.47 years | — |
| 1971 | 3.51 years | +1.3% |
| 1972 | 3.63 years | +3.3% |
| 1973 | 3.7 years | +2.0% |
| 1974 | 3.85 years | +3.9% |
| 1975 | 3.96 years | +3.0% |
| 1976 | 4.03 years | +1.8% |
| 1977 | 4.25 years | +5.4% |
| 1978 | 4.52 years | +6.4% |
| 1979 | 4.83 years | +6.8% |
| 1980 | 5.05 years | +4.6% |
| 1981 | 5.3 years | +5.0% |
| 1982 | 5.48 years | +3.4% |
| 1983 | 5.48 years | -0.0% |
| 1984 | 5.43 years | -0.9% |
| 1985 | 5.4 years | -0.6% |
| 1986 | 5.28 years | -2.3% |
| 1987 | 5.27 years | -0.2% |
| 1988 | 5.18 years | -1.5% |
| 1989 | 5.28 years | +1.8% |
| 1990 | 5.21 years | -1.3% |
| 1991 | 5.33 years | +2.3% |
| 1992 | 5.31 years | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 5.34 years | +0.6% |
| 1994 | 5.36 years | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 5.38 years | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 5.27 years | -2.0% |
| 1997 | 5.46 years | +3.8% |
| 1998 | 5.59 years | +2.4% |
| 1999 | 5.7 years | +1.9% |
| 2000 | 5.86 years | +2.8% |
| 2001 | 6.01 years | +2.6% |
| 2002 | 6.17 years | +2.6% |
| 2003 | 6.41 years | +3.9% |
| 2004 | 6.7 years | +4.5% |
| 2005 | 6.94 years | +3.6% |
| 2006 | 7.15 years | +3.0% |
| 2007 | 7.24 years | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 7.48 years | +3.3% |
| 2009 | 7.66 years | +2.3% |
| 2010 | 7.8 years | +1.8% |
| 2011 | 7.93 years | +1.7% |
| 2012 | 8.1 years | +2.1% |
| 2013 | 8.31 years | +2.7% |
| 2014 | 8.22 years | -1.1% |
| 2015 | 8.17 years | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 8.17 years | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 8.24 years | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 8.3 years | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 8.43 years | +1.6% |
| 2020 | 8.55 years | +1.4% |
| 2021 | 8.56 years | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 8.5 years | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 8.56 years | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 8.59 years | +0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3.98 years | 3.47 years | 4.83 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.31 years | 5.05 years | 5.48 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.4 years | 5.21 years | 5.7 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 6.76 years | 5.86 years | 7.66 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.17 years | 7.8 years | 8.43 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.55 years | 8.5 years | 8.59 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa
- 184 Afghanistan 8.58 years compare
- 185 Angola 8.41 years compare
- 186 Mauritania 8.31 years compare
- 187 Burundi 8.21 years compare
- 188 Nigeria 8.17 years compare
- 189 Lao People's Democratic Republic 8.14 years compare
- 190 Honduras 7.8 years compare
More education data for UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 5.90 million (2021)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 1.62 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 42.42 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.27 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 26.38 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 1.59 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) 3.52 % change on previous year (2021)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 2.54 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 10.53 million (2021)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 2.60 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa?
- School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa was 8.59 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female recorded in UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 8.59 years in 2024.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female recorded in UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.47 years in 1970.
- How does UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female?
- UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa ranks 187th out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female rising or falling in UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 55 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release