School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa
SDG: Sub-saharan Africa: School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes was 2.84 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
2.84 years
Change on year
up 0.1%
Rank
191st
of 221 groups
All-time high
2.84 years
in 2024
All-time low
0.745 years
in 1970
Years of data
55
1970–2024
School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
SDG: Sub-saharan Africa recorded 2.84 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 0.1% on the previous year and up 10.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa peaked at 2.84 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.745 years, in 1970.
That places SDG: Sub-saharan Africa 191st out of 221 groups with data for 2024, putting it 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 in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.745 years | — |
| 1971 | 0.7508 years | +0.8% |
| 1972 | 0.785 years | +4.6% |
| 1973 | 0.8073 years | +2.8% |
| 1974 | 0.821 years | +1.7% |
| 1975 | 0.8563 years | +4.3% |
| 1976 | 0.8914 years | +4.1% |
| 1977 | 0.9242 years | +3.7% |
| 1978 | 0.9764 years | +5.6% |
| 1979 | 1.03 years | +5.8% |
| 1980 | 1.11 years | +7.0% |
| 1981 | 1.19 years | +7.3% |
| 1982 | 1.26 years | +6.0% |
| 1983 | 1.33 years | +6.0% |
| 1984 | 1.41 years | +6.1% |
| 1985 | 1.45 years | +2.4% |
| 1986 | 1.38 years | -5.0% |
| 1987 | 1.39 years | +0.8% |
| 1988 | 1.39 years | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 1.36 years | -2.1% |
| 1990 | 1.37 years | +0.8% |
| 1991 | 1.39 years | +1.5% |
| 1992 | 1.41 years | +1.3% |
| 1993 | 1.44 years | +2.1% |
| 1994 | 1.47 years | +2.0% |
| 1995 | 1.48 years | +0.9% |
| 1996 | 1.48 years | -0.2% |
| 1997 | 1.48 years | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 1.49 years | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 1.51 years | +1.1% |
| 2000 | 1.53 years | +1.7% |
| 2001 | 1.61 years | +4.9% |
| 2002 | 1.67 years | +3.9% |
| 2003 | 1.73 years | +3.5% |
| 2004 | 1.82 years | +5.2% |
| 2005 | 1.87 years | +3.1% |
| 2006 | 1.95 years | +4.0% |
| 2007 | 2.01 years | +3.1% |
| 2008 | 2.13 years | +6.0% |
| 2009 | 2.23 years | +5.0% |
| 2010 | 2.35 years | +5.4% |
| 2011 | 2.44 years | +3.8% |
| 2012 | 2.5 years | +2.3% |
| 2013 | 2.66 years | +6.2% |
| 2014 | 2.58 years | -2.7% |
| 2015 | 2.63 years | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 2.61 years | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 2.64 years | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 2.66 years | +1.0% |
| 2019 | 2.72 years | +2.1% |
| 2020 | 2.77 years | +1.7% |
| 2021 | 2.81 years | +1.7% |
| 2022 | 2.81 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 2.84 years | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 2.84 years | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.8591 years | 0.745 years | 1.03 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.33 years | 1.11 years | 1.45 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.45 years | 1.37 years | 1.51 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.85 years | 1.53 years | 2.23 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.58 years | 2.35 years | 2.72 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.81 years | 2.77 years | 2.84 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near SDG: Sub-saharan Africa
More education data for SDG: Sub-saharan Africa
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 0.8202 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.31 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 40.94 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 1.68 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 37.60 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 1.49 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 97.68 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 78.55 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 25.10 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 4.94 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa?
- School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa was 2.84 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 2.84 years in 2024.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in SDG: Sub-saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.745 years in 1970.
- How does SDG: Sub-saharan Africa rank for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes?
- SDG: Sub-saharan Africa ranks 191st out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes rising or falling in SDG: 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 SDG: Sub-saharan Africa 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 55 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release