School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in ECA: West Africa (unsdcode:98105)
ECA: West Africa (unsdcode:98105): School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes was 8.47 years in 2018. ▲ Rising
Latest (2018)
8.47 years
Change on year
up 0.1%
Rank
210th
of 221 groups
All-time high
8.95 years
in 2013
All-time low
3.1 years
in 1970
Years of data
49
1970–2018
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in ECA: West Africa (unsdcode:98105), 1970–2018
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in ECA: West Africa (unsdcode:98105) is 8.47 years, measured in 2018.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 13.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in ECA: West Africa (unsdcode:98105) peaked at 8.95 years in 2013 and was at its lowest, 3.1 years, in 1970.
That places ECA: West Africa (unsdcode:98105) 210th out of 221 groups with data for 2018, putting it 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: West Africa (unsdcode:98105), year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 3.1 years | — |
| 1971 | 3.19 years | +2.7% |
| 1972 | 3.36 years | +5.4% |
| 1973 | 3.47 years | +3.2% |
| 1974 | 3.47 years | +0.1% |
| 1975 | 3.51 years | +1.1% |
| 1976 | 3.56 years | +1.3% |
| 1977 | 3.95 years | +11.1% |
| 1978 | 4.56 years | +15.5% |
| 1979 | 5.15 years | +13.0% |
| 1980 | 5.49 years | +6.5% |
| 1981 | 5.9 years | +7.5% |
| 1982 | 6.37 years | +8.1% |
| 1983 | 6.53 years | +2.5% |
| 1984 | 6.59 years | +0.9% |
| 1985 | 6.42 years | -2.7% |
| 1986 | 5.75 years | -10.4% |
| 1987 | 5.62 years | -2.2% |
| 1988 | 5.54 years | -1.4% |
| 1989 | 5.4 years | -2.6% |
| 1990 | 5.55 years | +2.8% |
| 1991 | 5.59 years | +0.7% |
| 1992 | 5.74 years | +2.7% |
| 1993 | 5.9 years | +2.7% |
| 1994 | 5.97 years | +1.2% |
| 1995 | 5.91 years | -1.0% |
| 1996 | 5.63 years | -4.6% |
| 1997 | 5.91 years | +5.0% |
| 1998 | 6.16 years | +4.2% |
| 1999 | 6.38 years | +3.5% |
| 2000 | 6.67 years | +4.6% |
| 2001 | 6.59 years | -1.2% |
| 2002 | 6.88 years | +4.4% |
| 2003 | 7.15 years | +3.9% |
| 2004 | 7.51 years | +5.1% |
| 2005 | 7.68 years | +2.3% |
| 2006 | 7.85 years | +2.3% |
| 2007 | 7.53 years | -4.1% |
| 2008 | 7.49 years | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 7.76 years | +3.6% |
| 2010 | 7.96 years | +2.5% |
| 2011 | 8.21 years | +3.2% |
| 2012 | 8.48 years | +3.2% |
| 2013 | 8.95 years | +5.5% |
| 2014 | 8.56 years | -4.4% |
| 2015 | 8.5 years | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 8.39 years | -1.4% |
| 2017 | 8.46 years | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 8.47 years | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3.73 years | 3.1 years | 5.15 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.96 years | 5.4 years | 6.59 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.87 years | 5.55 years | 6.38 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.31 years | 6.59 years | 7.85 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.44 years | 7.96 years | 8.95 years | 9 |
More education data for ECA: West Africa (unsdcode:98105)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 3.80 million (2020)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 6.66 % change on previous year (2020)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 1.54 million (2020)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 947,845 (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 873,576 (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 5.35 % change on previous year (2020)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 6.60 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 15.86 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 0.5935 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 2.26 million (2020)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in ECA: West Africa (unsdcode:98105)?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in ECA: West Africa (unsdcode:98105) was 8.47 years in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in ECA: West Africa (unsdcode:98105)?
- The highest recorded value was 8.95 years in 2013.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in ECA: West Africa (unsdcode:98105)?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.1 years in 1970.
- How does ECA: West Africa (unsdcode:98105) rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- ECA: West Africa (unsdcode:98105) ranks 210th out of 221 groups with data for 2018.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in ECA: West Africa (unsdcode:98105)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this ECA: West Africa (unsdcode:98105) 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).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release