School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years) (life both) in ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405)
ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405): School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years) (life both) was 3.18 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
3.18 years
Change on year
up 0.6%
Rank
166th
of 221 groups
All-time high
3.18 years
in 2024
All-time low
0.9027 years
in 1970
Years of data
55
1970–2024
School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405), 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405) recorded 3.18 years for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in 2024. That is the highest value across all 55 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 11.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405) peaked at 3.18 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.9027 years, in 1970.
ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405) ranks 166th of 221 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 55 years of available data.
School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years) (life both) in ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405), year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.9027 years | — |
| 1971 | 0.9066 years | +0.4% |
| 1972 | 0.9478 years | +4.5% |
| 1973 | 0.9777 years | +3.2% |
| 1974 | 1 years | +2.5% |
| 1975 | 1.05 years | +4.7% |
| 1976 | 1.11 years | +5.5% |
| 1977 | 1.17 years | +5.2% |
| 1978 | 1.23 years | +5.9% |
| 1979 | 1.3 years | +5.3% |
| 1980 | 1.37 years | +5.6% |
| 1981 | 1.45 years | +5.7% |
| 1982 | 1.53 years | +5.6% |
| 1983 | 1.61 years | +5.5% |
| 1984 | 1.7 years | +5.2% |
| 1985 | 1.75 years | +3.0% |
| 1986 | 1.73 years | -1.3% |
| 1987 | 1.75 years | +1.6% |
| 1988 | 1.76 years | +0.3% |
| 1989 | 1.73 years | -1.7% |
| 1990 | 1.8 years | +3.9% |
| 1991 | 1.8 years | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 1.79 years | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 1.82 years | +1.8% |
| 1994 | 1.88 years | +3.4% |
| 1995 | 1.88 years | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 1.86 years | -0.7% |
| 1997 | 1.88 years | +1.1% |
| 1998 | 1.91 years | +1.4% |
| 1999 | 1.94 years | +1.8% |
| 2000 | 1.97 years | +1.3% |
| 2001 | 2.04 years | +3.6% |
| 2002 | 2.09 years | +2.3% |
| 2003 | 2.13 years | +2.0% |
| 2004 | 2.21 years | +3.6% |
| 2005 | 2.23 years | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 2.27 years | +1.9% |
| 2007 | 2.28 years | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 2.4 years | +5.1% |
| 2009 | 2.51 years | +4.7% |
| 2010 | 2.62 years | +4.4% |
| 2011 | 2.73 years | +4.0% |
| 2012 | 2.78 years | +2.0% |
| 2013 | 2.92 years | +4.8% |
| 2014 | 2.86 years | -2.0% |
| 2015 | 2.9 years | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 2.89 years | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 2.93 years | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 2.96 years | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 3.01 years | +1.9% |
| 2020 | 3.06 years | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 3.11 years | +1.7% |
| 2022 | 3.13 years | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 3.16 years | +1.0% |
| 2024 | 3.18 years | +0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.06 years | 0.9027 years | 1.3 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.64 years | 1.37 years | 1.76 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.86 years | 1.79 years | 1.94 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.21 years | 1.97 years | 2.51 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.86 years | 2.62 years | 3.01 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.13 years | 3.06 years | 3.18 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405)
More education data for ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 1.99 % 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, female (number), gaps filled 3.29 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 9.24 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405)?
- School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405) was 3.18 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405)?
- The highest recorded value was 3.18 years in 2024.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405)?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9027 years in 1970.
- How does ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405) rank for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes?
- ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405) ranks 166th out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes rising or falling in ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this ESCAP: Africa (afr) (unsdcode:98405) data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release