Secondary education, general pupils in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income): Secondary education, general pupils was 46.9% in 2018. ▲ Rising
Secondary education, general pupils in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), 1970–2018
Source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % female.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) recorded 46.9% for secondary education, general pupils in 2018. That is the highest value across all 49 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 5.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, secondary education, general pupils in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) peaked at 46.9% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 37.9%, in 1984.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) 39th out of 43 groups with data for 2018, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 49 years of available data.
Secondary education, general pupils in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | % female | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 41.4% | — |
| 1971 | 41.3% | -0.1% |
| 1972 | 41.2% | -0.3% |
| 1973 | 41.4% | +0.3% |
| 1974 | 41.4% | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 41.1% | -0.7% |
| 1976 | 40.8% | -0.7% |
| 1977 | 40.6% | -0.4% |
| 1978 | 40.6% | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 40.3% | -0.9% |
| 1980 | 39.9% | -0.8% |
| 1981 | 40.0% | +0.2% |
| 1982 | 40.0% | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 38.6% | -3.5% |
| 1984 | 37.9% | -1.9% |
| 1985 | 40.0% | +5.5% |
| 1986 | 42.2% | +5.4% |
| 1987 | 42.8% | +1.5% |
| 1988 | 42.8% | +0.1% |
| 1989 | 43.0% | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 43.5% | +1.0% |
| 1991 | 43.8% | +0.8% |
| 1992 | 44.1% | +0.8% |
| 1993 | 44.4% | +0.6% |
| 1994 | 44.6% | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 45.2% | +1.4% |
| 1996 | 45.4% | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 45.6% | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 45.5% | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 45.6% | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 45.0% | -1.1% |
| 2001 | 44.8% | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 44.1% | -1.6% |
| 2003 | 44.3% | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 44.1% | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 44.3% | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 44.2% | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 43.9% | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 44.5% | +1.4% |
| 2009 | 44.9% | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 45.3% | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 45.5% | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 46.0% | +1.2% |
| 2013 | 46.4% | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 46.3% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 46.4% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 46.6% | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 46.7% | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 46.9% | +0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 41.0% | 40.3% | 41.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 40.7% | 37.9% | 43.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 44.8% | 43.5% | 45.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 44.4% | 43.9% | 45.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 46.2% | 45.3% | 46.9% | 9 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
More education data for Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 196.79 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 81.42 million (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 5.14 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 40.4% (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9733 % change on previous year (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)
- Population ages 15-64 56.4% (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is secondary education, general pupils in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- Secondary education, general pupils in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) was 46.9% in 2018, according to Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest secondary education, general pupils recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 46.9% in 2018.
- What is the lowest secondary education, general pupils recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 37.9% in 1984.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) rank for secondary education, general pupils?
- Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 39th out of 43 groups with data for 2018.
- Is secondary education, general pupils rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) data come from?
- The figures come from Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Secondary education, general pupils (% female). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Secondary general pupils are the number of secondary students enrolled in general education programs, including teacher training.