School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes was 9.27 years in 2017. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1970–2017
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2017, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa stood at 9.27 years.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 10.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 9.46 years in 2013 and was at its lowest, 4.27 years, in 1970.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 40th of 45 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 48 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 4.27 years | — |
| 1971 | 4.31 years | +0.9% |
| 1972 | 4.42 years | +2.5% |
| 1973 | 4.48 years | +1.3% |
| 1974 | 4.62 years | +3.2% |
| 1975 | 4.76 years | +3.1% |
| 1976 | 4.88 years | +2.5% |
| 1977 | 5.1 years | +4.4% |
| 1978 | 5.37 years | +5.4% |
| 1979 | 5.74 years | +6.8% |
| 1980 | 6.01 years | +4.8% |
| 1981 | 6.26 years | +4.2% |
| 1982 | 6.49 years | +3.6% |
| 1983 | 6.55 years | +1.0% |
| 1984 | 6.55 years | -0.0% |
| 1985 | 6.42 years | -2.0% |
| 1986 | 6.22 years | -3.2% |
| 1987 | 6.13 years | -1.3% |
| 1988 | 6.1 years | -0.5% |
| 1989 | 6.09 years | -0.3% |
| 1990 | 6.03 years | -1.0% |
| 1991 | 6.14 years | +1.8% |
| 1992 | 6.11 years | -0.5% |
| 1993 | 6.16 years | +0.9% |
| 1994 | 6.19 years | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 6.26 years | +1.1% |
| 1996 | 6.16 years | -1.6% |
| 1997 | 6.39 years | +3.8% |
| 1998 | 6.57 years | +2.7% |
| 1999 | 6.67 years | +1.6% |
| 2000 | 6.88 years | +3.2% |
| 2001 | 7.06 years | +2.6% |
| 2002 | 7.32 years | +3.6% |
| 2003 | 7.58 years | +3.5% |
| 2004 | 7.88 years | +4.0% |
| 2005 | 8.12 years | +3.1% |
| 2006 | 8.34 years | +2.7% |
| 2007 | 8.42 years | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 8.65 years | +2.8% |
| 2009 | 8.81 years | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 8.94 years | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 9.12 years | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 9.23 years | +1.2% |
| 2013 | 9.46 years | +2.5% |
| 2014 | 9.35 years | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 9.31 years | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 9.25 years | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 9.27 years | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.79 years | 4.27 years | 5.74 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.28 years | 6.01 years | 6.55 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.27 years | 6.03 years | 6.67 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.91 years | 6.88 years | 8.81 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.24 years | 8.94 years | 9.46 years | 8 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
More education data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 5.14 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 81.43 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 196.80 million (2024)
- Population ages 0-14 40.4% (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9738 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 56.4% (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1526 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa was 9.27 years in 2017, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 9.46 years in 2013.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.27 years in 1970.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 40th out of 45 groups with data for 2017.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 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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About this data
Expected years of schooling is the number of years a child of school entrance age is expected to spend at school, or university, including years spent on repetition. It is the sum of the age-specific enrolment ratios for primary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary and tertiary education.