School life expectancy, tertiary, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries): School life expectancy, tertiary, female was 0.407 years in 2018. ◆ Volatile
School life expectancy, tertiary, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), 1970–2018
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) recorded 0.407 years for school life expectancy, tertiary, female in 2018. That is the highest value across all 49 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.0% on the previous year and up 40.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, tertiary, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) peaked at 0.407 years in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0.0564 years, in 1972.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) 38th out of 43 groups with data for 2018, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
School life expectancy, tertiary, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.0568 years | — |
| 1971 | 0.0565 years | -0.5% |
| 1972 | 0.0564 years | -0.2% |
| 1973 | 0.0567 years | +0.5% |
| 1974 | 0.0586 years | +3.5% |
| 1975 | 0.0601 years | +2.4% |
| 1976 | 0.0618 years | +2.9% |
| 1977 | 0.0645 years | +4.4% |
| 1978 | 0.0675 years | +4.7% |
| 1979 | 0.0715 years | +5.9% |
| 1980 | 0.0748 years | +4.6% |
| 1981 | 0.0789 years | +5.5% |
| 1982 | 0.0832 years | +5.4% |
| 1983 | 0.0853 years | +2.5% |
| 1984 | 0.0878 years | +2.9% |
| 1985 | 0.0916 years | +4.3% |
| 1986 | 0.0951 years | +3.9% |
| 1987 | 0.0984 years | +3.4% |
| 1988 | 0.101 years | +2.7% |
| 1989 | 0.1057 years | +4.7% |
| 1990 | 0.1071 years | +1.3% |
| 1991 | 0.1127 years | +5.3% |
| 1992 | 0.1186 years | +5.2% |
| 1993 | 0.127 years | +7.0% |
| 1994 | 0.1369 years | +7.8% |
| 1995 | 0.1427 years | +4.3% |
| 1996 | 0.1499 years | +5.0% |
| 1997 | 0.1575 years | +5.1% |
| 1998 | 0.1648 years | +4.6% |
| 1999 | 0.1717 years | +4.2% |
| 2000 | 0.1874 years | +9.1% |
| 2001 | 0.2011 years | +7.3% |
| 2002 | 0.2164 years | +7.6% |
| 2003 | 0.2296 years | +6.1% |
| 2004 | 0.2417 years | +5.3% |
| 2005 | 0.2558 years | +5.8% |
| 2006 | 0.2674 years | +4.5% |
| 2007 | 0.2764 years | +3.4% |
| 2008 | 0.2888 years | +4.5% |
| 2009 | 0.3102 years | +7.4% |
| 2010 | 0.3281 years | +5.8% |
| 2011 | 0.3406 years | +3.8% |
| 2012 | 0.3604 years | +5.8% |
| 2013 | 0.3742 years | +3.9% |
| 2014 | 0.3818 years | +2.0% |
| 2015 | 0.3906 years | +2.3% |
| 2016 | 0.3919 years | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 0.3989 years | +1.8% |
| 2018 | 0.407 years | +2.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.061 years | 0.0564 years | 0.0715 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.0902 years | 0.0748 years | 0.1057 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.1389 years | 0.1071 years | 0.1717 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.2475 years | 0.1874 years | 0.3102 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.3748 years | 0.3281 years | 0.407 years | 9 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
More education data for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
- Population ages 15-64 56.4% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 40.4% (2025)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 5.14 million (2024)
- School enrollment, primary 97.1% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 5.14 million (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, per capita 0.004 units per person (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 96.0% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, male 98.2% (2024)
- Labor force, female 46.9% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, tertiary, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- School life expectancy, tertiary, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) was 0.407 years in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, tertiary, female recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The highest recorded value was 0.407 years in 2018.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, tertiary, female recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0564 years in 1972.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) rank for school life expectancy, tertiary, female?
- Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 38th out of 43 groups with data for 2018.
- Is school life expectancy, tertiary, female rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 40.9%. 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, female (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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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.