Secondary education, general pupils in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Secondary education, general pupils was 46.9% in 2018. ▲ Rising
Secondary education, general pupils in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1970–2018
Source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % female.
Analysis
The most recent figure for secondary education, general pupils in Sub-Saharan Africa is 46.9%, measured 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 peaked at 46.9% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 37.9%, in 1984.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa 35th out of 41 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, 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
More education data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 5.14 million (2024)
- Population ages 15-64 56.4% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 40.4% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 97.1% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, per capita 0.004 units per person (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 5.14 million (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, total, per capita 0.3987 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is secondary education, general pupils in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Secondary education, general pupils in Sub-Saharan Africa 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?
- The highest recorded value was 46.9% in 2018.
- What is the lowest secondary education, general pupils recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 37.9% in 1984.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for secondary education, general pupils?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 35th out of 41 groups with data for 2018.
- Is secondary education, general pupils rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- 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 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.