School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income)

WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income): 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
186th
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 WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income), 1970–2024

02468197019972024

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.

Analysis

WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income) recorded 8.59 years for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in 2024. That is the highest value across all 55 years on record.

The figure is 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 WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income) peaked at 8.59 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 3.47 years, in 1970.

WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income) ranks 186th 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 WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income), year by year

Annual values for School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female (years) in WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income), 1970 to 2024.
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 5.19 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 5.35 years +0.6%
1994 5.36 years +0.3%
1995 5.38 years +0.4%
1996 5.27 years -2.0%
1997 5.47 years +3.8%
1998 5.6 years +2.4%
1999 5.7 years +1.9%
2000 5.86 years +2.8%
2001 6.02 years +2.6%
2002 6.18 years +2.6%
2003 6.42 years +3.9%
2004 6.7 years +4.5%
2005 6.95 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 8.25 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 8.57 years +0.8%
2024 8.59 years +0.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 3.98 years 3.47 years 4.83 years 10
1980s 5.32 years 5.05 years 5.48 years 10
1990s 5.4 years 5.21 years 5.7 years 10
2000s 6.77 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 WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income)

  1. 183 Tanzania, United Republic of 8.76 years compare
  2. 184 Afghanistan 8.58 years compare
  3. 185 Angola 8.41 years compare
  4. 186 Mauritania 8.31 years compare
  5. 187 Burundi 8.21 years compare
  6. 188 Nigeria 8.17 years compare
  7. 189 Lao People's Democratic Republic 8.14 years compare

See the full ranking of 429 places →

More education data for WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income)

All data for WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income) →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income)?
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income) 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 WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income)?
The highest recorded value was 8.59 years in 2024.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female recorded in WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income)?
The lowest recorded value was 3.47 years in 1970.
How does WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income) rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female?
WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income) ranks 186th out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female rising or falling in WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income)?
Over the last ten years it is up 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income) 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.

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School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income). Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-primary-and-secondary-female-years-2/wb-sub-saharan-africa-excluding-high-income/

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About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female (years)
Unit
years
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
429 places, 15,518 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release