School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in UIS: Sub-saharan Africa
UIS: 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
190th
of 221 groups
All-time high
2.84 years
in 2024
All-time low
0.747 years
in 1970
Years of data
55
1970–2024
School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in UIS: Sub-saharan Africa, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in UIS: Sub-saharan Africa is 2.84 years, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 55 years on record.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 9.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in UIS: Sub-saharan Africa peaked at 2.84 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.747 years, in 1970.
UIS: Sub-saharan Africa ranks 190th 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 in UIS: Sub-saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.747 years | — |
| 1971 | 0.7529 years | +0.8% |
| 1972 | 0.7873 years | +4.6% |
| 1973 | 0.8095 years | +2.8% |
| 1974 | 0.8231 years | +1.7% |
| 1975 | 0.8584 years | +4.3% |
| 1976 | 0.8935 years | +4.1% |
| 1977 | 0.9263 years | +3.7% |
| 1978 | 0.9786 years | +5.6% |
| 1979 | 1.04 years | +5.8% |
| 1980 | 1.11 years | +7.0% |
| 1981 | 1.19 years | +7.3% |
| 1982 | 1.26 years | +6.0% |
| 1983 | 1.34 years | +6.0% |
| 1984 | 1.42 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 | 1.88 years | +3.1% |
| 2006 | 1.95 years | +4.0% |
| 2007 | 2.01 years | +3.1% |
| 2008 | 2.13 years | +6.0% |
| 2009 | 2.24 years | +5.0% |
| 2010 | 2.36 years | +5.4% |
| 2011 | 2.45 years | +3.7% |
| 2012 | 2.5 years | +2.3% |
| 2013 | 2.66 years | +6.1% |
| 2014 | 2.58 years | -2.7% |
| 2015 | 2.63 years | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 2.61 years | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 2.64 years | +1.1% |
| 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 | 0.8612 years | 0.747 years | 1.04 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 | 1.86 years | 1.53 years | 2.24 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.58 years | 2.36 years | 2.72 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.81 years | 2.77 years | 2.84 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near UIS: Sub-saharan Africa
More education data for UIS: Sub-saharan Africa
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 2.38 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 40.73 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.23 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 25.04 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 1.63 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 9.73 million (2021)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 4 % change on previous year (2021)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 4.53 % change on previous year (2021)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) 3.6 % change on previous year (2021)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 5.50 million (2021)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in UIS: Sub-saharan Africa?
- School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in UIS: 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 UIS: 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 UIS: Sub-saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.747 years in 1970.
- How does UIS: Sub-saharan Africa rank for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes?
- UIS: Sub-saharan Africa ranks 190th out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes rising or falling in UIS: Sub-saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this UIS: 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