School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in UNICEF: Economic Community of West African States (ecowas)
UNICEF: Economic Community of West African States (ecowas): 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 UNICEF: Economic Community of West African States (ecowas), 1970–2018
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
UNICEF: Economic Community of West African States (ecowas) recorded 8.47 years for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in 2018.
That represents a change of 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 UNICEF: Economic Community of West African States (ecowas) peaked at 8.95 years in 2013 and was at its lowest, 3.1 years, in 1970.
UNICEF: Economic Community of West African States (ecowas) ranks 210th 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 UNICEF: Economic Community of West African States (ecowas), 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 UNICEF: Economic Community of West African States (ecowas)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 6.60 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 31.31 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 947,845 (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 0.7446 % change on previous year (2024)
- 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 tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 3.80 million (2020)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 0.8591 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 2.59 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 15.44 million (2024)
All data for UNICEF: Economic Community of West African States (ecowas) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in UNICEF: Economic Community of West African States (ecowas)?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in UNICEF: Economic Community of West African States (ecowas) 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 UNICEF: Economic Community of West African States (ecowas)?
- The highest recorded value was 8.95 years in 2013.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in UNICEF: Economic Community of West African States (ecowas)?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.1 years in 1970.
- How does UNICEF: Economic Community of West African States (ecowas) rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- UNICEF: Economic Community of West African States (ecowas) ranks 210th out of 221 groups with data for 2018.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in UNICEF: Economic Community of West African States (ecowas)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this UNICEF: Economic Community of West African States (ecowas) 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