School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in UNICEF: Africa
UNICEF: Africa: School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes 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 UNICEF: Africa, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2024, school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in UNICEF: Africa stood at 3.18 years. 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 UNICEF: Africa peaked at 3.18 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.9027 years, in 1970.
That places UNICEF: Africa 166th 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 UNICEF: Africa, 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 UNICEF: Africa
More education data for UNICEF: Africa
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 2.35 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 9.98 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) 1.42 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 1.6 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 50.51 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 19.22 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), annual 2.01 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 29.65 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 2.62 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in UNICEF: Africa?
- School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in UNICEF: Africa was 3.18 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in UNICEF: Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 3.18 years in 2024.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in UNICEF: Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9027 years in 1970.
- How does UNICEF: Africa rank for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes?
- UNICEF: Africa ranks 166th out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes rising or falling in UNICEF: Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this UNICEF: 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