School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income)
WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income): School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female was 8.76 years in 2018. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income), 1970–2018
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2018, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income) stood at 8.76 years. That is the highest value across all 49 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 12.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income) peaked at 8.76 years in 2018 and was at its lowest, 3.56 years, in 1970.
That places WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income) 188th 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, female in WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income), year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 3.56 years | — |
| 1971 | 3.59 years | +1.0% |
| 1972 | 3.71 years | +3.3% |
| 1973 | 3.79 years | +2.0% |
| 1974 | 3.93 years | +4.0% |
| 1975 | 4.05 years | +3.0% |
| 1976 | 4.13 years | +1.9% |
| 1977 | 4.35 years | +5.5% |
| 1978 | 4.63 years | +6.4% |
| 1979 | 4.94 years | +6.6% |
| 1980 | 5.17 years | +4.6% |
| 1981 | 5.42 years | +4.9% |
| 1982 | 5.6 years | +3.3% |
| 1983 | 5.6 years | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 5.56 years | -0.8% |
| 1985 | 5.52 years | -0.7% |
| 1986 | 5.4 years | -2.3% |
| 1987 | 5.39 years | -0.1% |
| 1988 | 5.33 years | -1.1% |
| 1989 | 5.41 years | +1.4% |
| 1990 | 5.35 years | -1.0% |
| 1991 | 5.47 years | +2.3% |
| 1992 | 5.47 years | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 5.51 years | +0.7% |
| 1994 | 5.52 years | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 5.56 years | +0.6% |
| 1996 | 5.45 years | -1.9% |
| 1997 | 5.66 years | +3.8% |
| 1998 | 5.79 years | +2.4% |
| 1999 | 5.88 years | +1.6% |
| 2000 | 6.05 years | +2.9% |
| 2001 | 6.2 years | +2.5% |
| 2002 | 6.4 years | +3.2% |
| 2003 | 6.66 years | +3.9% |
| 2004 | 6.93 years | +4.2% |
| 2005 | 7.19 years | +3.7% |
| 2006 | 7.43 years | +3.3% |
| 2007 | 7.53 years | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 7.78 years | +3.3% |
| 2009 | 7.98 years | +2.5% |
| 2010 | 8.12 years | +1.7% |
| 2011 | 8.27 years | +1.8% |
| 2012 | 8.48 years | +2.6% |
| 2013 | 8.72 years | +2.8% |
| 2014 | 8.64 years | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 8.6 years | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 8.6 years | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 8.69 years | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 8.76 years | +0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.07 years | 3.56 years | 4.94 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.44 years | 5.17 years | 5.6 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.57 years | 5.35 years | 5.88 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.02 years | 6.05 years | 7.98 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.54 years | 8.12 years | 8.76 years | 9 |
More education data for WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 3.88 % change on previous year (2021)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 39.08 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 1.55 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 42.34 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.19 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 26.36 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 1.56 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 10.53 million (2021)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 5.90 million (2021)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 4.34 % change on previous year (2021)
All data for WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income)?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income) was 8.76 years in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female recorded in WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income)?
- The highest recorded value was 8.76 years in 2018.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female recorded in WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.56 years in 1970.
- How does WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income) rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female?
- WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income) ranks 188th out of 221 groups with data for 2018.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female rising or falling in WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this WB: Sub-saharan Africa (excluding High Income) data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female (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