Secondary education, general pupils in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries): Secondary education, general pupils was 46.9% in 2018. ▲ Rising
Secondary education, general pupils in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), 1970–2018
Source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % female.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) recorded 46.9% for secondary education, general pupils in 2018. That is the highest value across all 49 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is 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 (IDA & IBRD countries) peaked at 46.9% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 37.9%, in 1984.
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 37th of 43 groups on this measure, 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 (IDA & IBRD countries), 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 | 38.7% | -3.5% |
| 1984 | 37.9% | -1.9% |
| 1985 | 40.0% | +5.5% |
| 1986 | 42.2% | +5.4% |
| 1987 | 42.8% | +1.5% |
| 1988 | 42.9% | +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 (IDA & IBRD countries)
More education data for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
- Population ages 0-14 40.4% (2025)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 5.14 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 196.80 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9738 % change on previous year (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 81.43 million (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)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1526 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is secondary education, general pupils in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Secondary education, general pupils in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) 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 (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The highest recorded value was 46.9% in 2018.
- What is the lowest secondary education, general pupils recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The lowest recorded value was 37.9% in 1984.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) rank for secondary education, general pupils?
- Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 37th out of 43 groups with data for 2018.
- Is secondary education, general pupils rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- 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 (IDA & IBRD countries) 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Secondary general pupils are the number of secondary students enrolled in general education programs, including teacher training.