School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in WB: Sub-saharan Africa
WB: 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
184th
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, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
WB: Sub-saharan Africa 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.
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 WB: Sub-saharan Africa peaked at 8.59 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 3.47 years, in 1970.
WB: Sub-saharan Africa ranks 184th 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, 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 | 5.19 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 | 5.87 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 | 7.25 years | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 7.49 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
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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 | 5.87 years | 7.66 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.17 years | 7.8 years | 8.43 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.56 years | 8.5 years | 8.59 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near WB: Sub-saharan Africa
- 181 Benin 8.96 years compare
- 182 Lebanon 8.95 years compare
- 183 Tanzania, United Republic of 8.76 years compare
- 184 Afghanistan 8.58 years compare
- 185 Angola 8.41 years compare
- 186 Mauritania 8.31 years compare
- 187 Burundi 8.21 years compare
More education data for WB: Sub-saharan Africa
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 1.55 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 39.08 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 1.55 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 42.35 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.19 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 26.37 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 2.54 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 4.35 % change on previous year (2021)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 2.60 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 0.7609 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in WB: Sub-saharan Africa?
- School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in WB: 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 WB: 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 WB: Sub-saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.47 years in 1970.
- How does WB: Sub-saharan Africa rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female?
- WB: Sub-saharan Africa ranks 184th out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female rising or falling in WB: 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 WB: 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