School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years) (both) in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years) (both) was 6.62 years in 2001. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Sierra Leone, 1971–2001
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Sierra Leone recorded 6.62 years for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in 2001. That is the highest value across all 17 years on record.
That represents a change of up 52.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Sierra Leone peaked at 6.62 years in 2001 and was at its lowest, 3.11 years, in 1971.
That places Sierra Leone 183rd out of 186 countries with data for 2001, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years) (both) in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 3.11 years | — |
| 1972 | 3.24 years | +4.1% |
| 1973 | 3.13 years | -3.3% |
| 1974 | 3.29 years | +5.0% |
| 1975 | 3.39 years | +3.1% |
| 1976 | 3.54 years | +4.5% |
| 1977 | 3.68 years | +3.8% |
| 1978 | 3.75 years | +2.0% |
| 1981 | 4.69 years | +25.0% |
| 1984 | 5.4 years | +15.2% |
| 1985 | 5.74 years | +6.3% |
| 1986 | 5.63 years | -1.9% |
| 1988 | 5.53 years | -1.8% |
| 1989 | 4.96 years | -10.3% |
| 1990 | 4.81 years | -3.0% |
| 1991 | 4.34 years | -9.8% |
| 2001 | 6.62 years | +52.6% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 6.62 years is below the median for low income countries, which is 8.16 years, 81% of the median. (20 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 6.62 years is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 10.16 years, 65% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years) (both) in Sierra Leone changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | +52.6% | 4.34 years | 6.62 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3.39 years | 3.11 years | 3.75 years | 8 |
| 1980s | 5.33 years | 4.69 years | 5.74 years | 6 |
| 1990s | 4.58 years | 4.34 years | 4.81 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 6.62 years | 6.62 years | 6.62 years | 1 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More education data for Sierra Leone
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 38,043 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 73,295 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 85,708 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 92,723 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.16 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.07 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.52 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.2393 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Sierra Leone?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Sierra Leone was 6.62 years in 2001, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 6.62 years in 2001.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.11 years in 1971.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- Sierra Leone ranks 183rd out of 186 countries with data for 2001.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 52.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sierra Leone 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.
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CSV · JSON — 17 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release