School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa
UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa: School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes was 2.82 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
2.82 years
Change on year
up 0.1%
Rank
195th
of 221 groups
All-time high
2.82 years
in 2024
All-time low
0.7811 years
in 1970
Years of data
55
1970–2024
School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa recorded 2.82 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 9.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa peaked at 2.82 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.7811 years, in 1970.
UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa ranks 195th 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 UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.7811 years | — |
| 1971 | 0.7869 years | +0.7% |
| 1972 | 0.8196 years | +4.2% |
| 1973 | 0.8414 years | +2.7% |
| 1974 | 0.8558 years | +1.7% |
| 1975 | 0.8898 years | +4.0% |
| 1976 | 0.9237 years | +3.8% |
| 1977 | 0.9553 years | +3.4% |
| 1978 | 1.01 years | +5.2% |
| 1979 | 1.06 years | +5.4% |
| 1980 | 1.13 years | +6.5% |
| 1981 | 1.21 years | +6.8% |
| 1982 | 1.27 years | +5.7% |
| 1983 | 1.35 years | +5.6% |
| 1984 | 1.42 years | +5.7% |
| 1985 | 1.46 years | +2.3% |
| 1986 | 1.39 years | -4.7% |
| 1987 | 1.4 years | +0.8% |
| 1988 | 1.4 years | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 1.37 years | -2.0% |
| 1990 | 1.38 years | +0.8% |
| 1991 | 1.4 years | +1.4% |
| 1992 | 1.42 years | +1.2% |
| 1993 | 1.45 years | +2.0% |
| 1994 | 1.47 years | +1.9% |
| 1995 | 1.49 years | +0.8% |
| 1996 | 1.48 years | -0.2% |
| 1997 | 1.49 years | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 1.49 years | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 1.51 years | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 1.53 years | +1.6% |
| 2001 | 1.61 years | +4.7% |
| 2002 | 1.67 years | +3.7% |
| 2003 | 1.73 years | +3.5% |
| 2004 | 1.82 years | +5.4% |
| 2005 | 1.87 years | +2.9% |
| 2006 | 1.94 years | +3.6% |
| 2007 | 2 years | +2.9% |
| 2008 | 2.11 years | +6.0% |
| 2009 | 2.22 years | +5.2% |
| 2010 | 2.34 years | +5.2% |
| 2011 | 2.42 years | +3.3% |
| 2012 | 2.48 years | +2.5% |
| 2013 | 2.63 years | +6.1% |
| 2014 | 2.56 years | -2.5% |
| 2015 | 2.61 years | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 2.59 years | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 2.62 years | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 2.64 years | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 2.7 years | +2.1% |
| 2020 | 2.74 years | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 2.79 years | +1.6% |
| 2022 | 2.79 years | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 2.81 years | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 2.82 years | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.8919 years | 0.7811 years | 1.06 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.34 years | 1.13 years | 1.46 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.46 years | 1.38 years | 1.51 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.85 years | 1.53 years | 2.22 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.56 years | 2.34 years | 2.7 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.79 years | 2.74 years | 2.82 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa
More education data for UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 26.38 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 0.7869 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 39.14 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 1.62 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 42.42 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.27 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 3.88 % change on previous year (2021)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 4.63 million (2021)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 2.54 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 5.14 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa?
- School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa was 2.82 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 2.82 years in 2024.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7811 years in 1970.
- How does UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa rank for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes?
- UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa ranks 195th out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes rising or falling in UNICEF: Sub-saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this UNICEF: 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