School life expectancy, primary, female in UNICEF: Africa
UNICEF: Africa: School life expectancy, primary, female was 5.92 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
5.92 years
Change on year
up 0.4%
Rank
55th
of 221 groups
All-time high
5.94 years
in 2020
All-time low
2.9 years
in 1970
Years of data
55
1970–2024
School life expectancy, primary, female in UNICEF: Africa, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary, female in UNICEF: Africa is 5.92 years, measured in 2024.
The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 1.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary, female in UNICEF: Africa peaked at 5.94 years in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2.9 years, in 1970.
That places UNICEF: Africa 55th out of 221 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 55 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary, female in UNICEF: Africa, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 2.9 years | — |
| 1971 | 2.93 years | +1.1% |
| 1972 | 3.03 years | +3.3% |
| 1973 | 3.09 years | +2.0% |
| 1974 | 3.2 years | +3.7% |
| 1975 | 3.3 years | +3.0% |
| 1976 | 3.36 years | +1.8% |
| 1977 | 3.54 years | +5.3% |
| 1978 | 3.74 years | +5.7% |
| 1979 | 3.98 years | +6.4% |
| 1980 | 4.14 years | +4.0% |
| 1981 | 4.3 years | +3.9% |
| 1982 | 4.41 years | +2.6% |
| 1983 | 4.42 years | +0.1% |
| 1984 | 4.36 years | -1.2% |
| 1985 | 4.26 years | -2.3% |
| 1986 | 4.17 years | -2.2% |
| 1987 | 4.15 years | -0.5% |
| 1988 | 4.08 years | -1.7% |
| 1989 | 4.17 years | +2.4% |
| 1990 | 4.05 years | -2.9% |
| 1991 | 4.15 years | +2.4% |
| 1992 | 4.11 years | -1.0% |
| 1993 | 4.14 years | +0.7% |
| 1994 | 4.18 years | +1.1% |
| 1995 | 4.17 years | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 4.1 years | -1.8% |
| 1997 | 4.29 years | +4.8% |
| 1998 | 4.41 years | +2.7% |
| 1999 | 4.5 years | +2.1% |
| 2000 | 4.64 years | +3.1% |
| 2001 | 4.72 years | +1.7% |
| 2002 | 4.84 years | +2.6% |
| 2003 | 5 years | +3.3% |
| 2004 | 5.18 years | +3.6% |
| 2005 | 5.39 years | +4.1% |
| 2006 | 5.52 years | +2.5% |
| 2007 | 5.57 years | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 5.65 years | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 5.69 years | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 5.71 years | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 5.73 years | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 5.82 years | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 5.86 years | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 5.82 years | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 5.73 years | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 5.75 years | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 5.78 years | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 5.81 years | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 5.88 years | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 5.94 years | +1.1% |
| 2021 | 5.91 years | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 5.83 years | -1.4% |
| 2023 | 5.89 years | +0.9% |
| 2024 | 5.92 years | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3.31 years | 2.9 years | 3.98 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.24 years | 4.08 years | 4.42 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.21 years | 4.05 years | 4.5 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.22 years | 4.64 years | 5.69 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.79 years | 5.71 years | 5.88 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.9 years | 5.83 years | 5.94 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near UNICEF: Africa
More education data for UNICEF: Africa
- Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general 92.0% (2024)
- Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in general 90.9% (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female 50.51 million (2024)
- Share of all students in secondary education enrolled in vocational 8.0% (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male 54.20 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes 29.65 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes 6.23 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male 114.70 million (2024)
- School age population, upper secondary education, both sexes 92.95 million (2024)
- School age population, upper secondary education, male 46.96 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary, female in UNICEF: Africa?
- School life expectancy, primary, female in UNICEF: Africa was 5.92 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary, female recorded in UNICEF: Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 5.94 years in 2020.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary, female recorded in UNICEF: Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.9 years in 1970.
- How does UNICEF: Africa rank for school life expectancy, primary, female?
- UNICEF: Africa ranks 55th out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, primary, female rising or falling in UNICEF: Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this UNICEF: Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, primary, 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