School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in UNICEF: Africa
UNICEF: Africa: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes was 9.85 years in 2021. ▲ Rising
Latest (2021)
9.85 years
Change on year
up 0.1%
Rank
160th
of 221 groups
All-time high
9.85 years
in 2021
All-time low
4.62 years
in 1970
Years of data
52
1970–2021
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in UNICEF: Africa, 1970–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2021, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in UNICEF: Africa stood at 9.85 years. That is the highest value across all 52 years on record.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 7.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in UNICEF: Africa peaked at 9.85 years in 2021 and was at its lowest, 4.62 years, in 1970.
UNICEF: Africa ranks 160th of 221 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 52 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in UNICEF: Africa, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 4.62 years | — |
| 1971 | 4.62 years | +0.1% |
| 1972 | 4.75 years | +2.9% |
| 1973 | 4.83 years | +1.6% |
| 1974 | 4.95 years | +2.6% |
| 1975 | 5.12 years | +3.4% |
| 1976 | 5.25 years | +2.6% |
| 1977 | 5.45 years | +3.8% |
| 1978 | 5.72 years | +5.0% |
| 1979 | 6.05 years | +5.7% |
| 1980 | 6.31 years | +4.3% |
| 1981 | 6.52 years | +3.3% |
| 1982 | 6.73 years | +3.3% |
| 1983 | 6.83 years | +1.4% |
| 1984 | 6.87 years | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 6.76 years | -1.6% |
| 1986 | 6.61 years | -2.2% |
| 1987 | 6.58 years | -0.5% |
| 1988 | 6.59 years | +0.3% |
| 1989 | 6.57 years | -0.4% |
| 1990 | 6.53 years | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 6.61 years | +1.3% |
| 1992 | 6.55 years | -0.9% |
| 1993 | 6.6 years | +0.8% |
| 1994 | 6.71 years | +1.5% |
| 1995 | 6.71 years | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 6.64 years | -0.9% |
| 1997 | 6.86 years | +3.3% |
| 1998 | 7.02 years | +2.4% |
| 1999 | 7.09 years | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 7.28 years | +2.6% |
| 2001 | 7.4 years | +1.7% |
| 2002 | 7.61 years | +2.8% |
| 2003 | 7.84 years | +3.1% |
| 2004 | 8.08 years | +3.1% |
| 2005 | 8.34 years | +3.2% |
| 2006 | 8.52 years | +2.2% |
| 2007 | 8.55 years | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 8.74 years | +2.2% |
| 2009 | 8.92 years | +2.0% |
| 2010 | 9.04 years | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 9.21 years | +1.9% |
| 2012 | 9.37 years | +1.8% |
| 2013 | 9.57 years | +2.1% |
| 2014 | 9.49 years | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 9.45 years | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 9.47 years | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 9.55 years | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 9.63 years | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 9.74 years | +1.1% |
| 2020 | 9.85 years | +1.1% |
| 2021 | 9.85 years | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.14 years | 4.62 years | 6.05 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.64 years | 6.31 years | 6.87 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.73 years | 6.53 years | 7.09 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.13 years | 7.28 years | 8.92 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.45 years | 9.04 years | 9.74 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.85 years | 9.85 years | 9.85 years | 2 |
Countries ranked near UNICEF: Africa
More education data for UNICEF: Africa
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) 1.42 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 50.51 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 2.35 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 54.20 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.87 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 29.65 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 2.01 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 19.22 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 2.94 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 1.99 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in UNICEF: Africa?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in UNICEF: Africa was 9.85 years in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in UNICEF: Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 9.85 years in 2021.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in UNICEF: Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.62 years in 1970.
- How does UNICEF: Africa rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- UNICEF: Africa ranks 160th out of 221 groups with data for 2021.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in UNICEF: Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.0%. 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 to tertiary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 52 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release