School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126)

ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126): School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes was 9.15 years in 2018. ▲ Rising

Latest (2018)
9.15 years
Change on year
up 0.6%
Rank
186th
of 221 groups
All-time high
9.19 years
in 2013
All-time low
4.32 years
in 1970
Years of data
49
1970–2018

School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126), 1970–2018

0246810197019942018

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.

Analysis

ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) recorded 9.15 years for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in 2018.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 8.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) peaked at 9.19 years in 2013 and was at its lowest, 4.32 years, in 1970.

ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) ranks 186th of 221 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 49 years of available data.

School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126), year by year

Annual values for School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years) in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126), 1970 to 2018.
Year years Change
1970 4.32 years
1971 4.35 years +0.6%
1972 4.47 years +2.8%
1973 4.52 years +1.2%
1974 4.67 years +3.1%
1975 4.81 years +3.1%
1976 4.91 years +2.1%
1977 5.1 years +3.8%
1978 5.38 years +5.6%
1979 5.75 years +6.8%
1980 6.02 years +4.8%
1981 6.25 years +3.8%
1982 6.46 years +3.4%
1983 6.53 years +1.1%
1984 6.53 years -0.0%
1985 6.37 years -2.4%
1986 6.14 years -3.6%
1987 6.07 years -1.1%
1988 6.08 years +0.0%
1989 6.06 years -0.3%
1990 6.02 years -0.6%
1991 6.12 years +1.7%
1992 6.09 years -0.5%
1993 6.13 years +0.7%
1994 6.15 years +0.2%
1995 6.19 years +0.7%
1996 6.07 years -1.9%
1997 6.3 years +3.7%
1998 6.47 years +2.7%
1999 6.53 years +1.0%
2000 6.72 years +2.9%
2001 6.87 years +2.2%
2002 7.09 years +3.3%
2003 7.37 years +3.9%
2004 7.64 years +3.8%
2005 7.88 years +3.1%
2006 8.1 years +2.8%
2007 8.18 years +1.0%
2008 8.4 years +2.7%
2009 8.56 years +1.9%
2010 8.67 years +1.3%
2011 8.85 years +2.1%
2012 8.99 years +1.6%
2013 9.19 years +2.2%
2014 9.1 years -1.0%
2015 9.02 years -0.9%
2016 9.03 years +0.0%
2017 9.09 years +0.7%
2018 9.15 years +0.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 4.83 years 4.32 years 5.75 years 10
1980s 6.25 years 6.02 years 6.53 years 10
1990s 6.21 years 6.02 years 6.53 years 10
2000s 7.68 years 6.72 years 8.56 years 10
2010s 9.01 years 8.67 years 9.19 years 9

Countries ranked near ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126)

  1. 183 Sierra Leone 6.62 years compare
  2. 184 Central African Republic 6.32 years compare
  3. 185 Papua New Guinea 5.78 years compare
  4. 186 Djibouti 4.05 years compare

See the full ranking of 407 places →

More education data for ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126)

All data for ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126)?
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) was 9.15 years in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126)?
The highest recorded value was 9.19 years in 2013.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126)?
The lowest recorded value was 4.32 years in 1970.
How does ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) ranks 186th out of 221 groups with data for 2018.
Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126)?
Over the last ten years it is up 8.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126) data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126). Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 02 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-primary-to-tertiary-both-sexes-years-2/eca-sub-saharan-africa-unsdcode-98126/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-primary-to-tertiary-both-sexes-years-2/eca-sub-saharan-africa-unsdcode-98126/">School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in ECA: Sub-saharan Africa (unsdcode:98126)</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years)
Unit
years
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
407 places, 13,852 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release