School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries): School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes was 0.4753 years in 2018. ◆ Volatile
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), 1970–2018
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) is 0.4753 years, measured in 2018. That is the highest value across all 49 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.1% on the previous year and up 34.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) peaked at 0.4753 years in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0.0701 years, in 1971.
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 40th of 45 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.0705 years | — |
| 1971 | 0.0701 years | -0.5% |
| 1972 | 0.0713 years | +1.7% |
| 1973 | 0.0727 years | +1.9% |
| 1974 | 0.0761 years | +4.7% |
| 1975 | 0.0788 years | +3.5% |
| 1976 | 0.0817 years | +3.8% |
| 1977 | 0.0863 years | +5.6% |
| 1978 | 0.092 years | +6.6% |
| 1979 | 0.0992 years | +7.8% |
| 1980 | 0.1046 years | +5.4% |
| 1981 | 0.1119 years | +7.0% |
| 1982 | 0.1186 years | +6.0% |
| 1983 | 0.1217 years | +2.6% |
| 1984 | 0.1254 years | +3.0% |
| 1985 | 0.1321 years | +5.3% |
| 1986 | 0.1373 years | +4.0% |
| 1987 | 0.1399 years | +1.9% |
| 1988 | 0.1472 years | +5.2% |
| 1989 | 0.1547 years | +5.1% |
| 1990 | 0.1573 years | +1.7% |
| 1991 | 0.1622 years | +3.1% |
| 1992 | 0.1671 years | +3.0% |
| 1993 | 0.176 years | +5.3% |
| 1994 | 0.1832 years | +4.1% |
| 1995 | 0.1875 years | +2.4% |
| 1996 | 0.1931 years | +3.0% |
| 1997 | 0.1993 years | +3.2% |
| 1998 | 0.204 years | +2.4% |
| 1999 | 0.2085 years | +2.2% |
| 2000 | 0.2273 years | +9.0% |
| 2001 | 0.2455 years | +8.0% |
| 2002 | 0.2629 years | +7.1% |
| 2003 | 0.2823 years | +7.4% |
| 2004 | 0.2947 years | +4.4% |
| 2005 | 0.311 years | +5.5% |
| 2006 | 0.3231 years | +3.9% |
| 2007 | 0.3349 years | +3.7% |
| 2008 | 0.3535 years | +5.6% |
| 2009 | 0.3764 years | +6.5% |
| 2010 | 0.4024 years | +6.9% |
| 2011 | 0.4196 years | +4.3% |
| 2012 | 0.4352 years | +3.7% |
| 2013 | 0.4487 years | +3.1% |
| 2014 | 0.4594 years | +2.4% |
| 2015 | 0.4671 years | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 0.4644 years | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 0.4701 years | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 0.4753 years | +1.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.0799 years | 0.0701 years | 0.0992 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.1293 years | 0.1046 years | 0.1547 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.1838 years | 0.1573 years | 0.2085 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.3012 years | 0.2273 years | 0.3764 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.4491 years | 0.4024 years | 0.4753 years | 9 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
More education data for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 196.80 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 81.43 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9738 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1526 units per person (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 5.14 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 56.4% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 40.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) was 0.4753 years in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The highest recorded value was 0.4753 years in 2018.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0701 years in 1971.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) rank for school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes?
- Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 40th out of 45 groups with data for 2018.
- Is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 34.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Number of years a person of school entrance age can expect to spend within the specified level of education. For a child of a certain age a, the school life expectancy is calculated as the sum of the age specific enrolment rates for the levels of education specified. The part of the enrolment that is not distributed by age is divided by the school-age population for the level of education they are enrolled in, and multiplied by the duration of that level of education. The result is then added to the sum of the age-specific enrolment rates. A relatively high SLE indicates greater probability for children to spend more years in education and higher overall retention within the education system. It must be noted that the expected number of years does not necessarily coincide with the expected number of grades of education completed, because of repetition. Since school life expectancy is an average based on participation in different levels of education, the expected number of years of schooling may be pulled down by the magnitude of children who never go to school. Those children who are in school may benefit from many more years of education than the average.