School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries): School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female was 8.85 years in 2017. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), 1970–2017
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) recorded 8.85 years for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in 2017.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 14.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) peaked at 8.97 years in 2013 and was at its lowest, 3.53 years, in 1970.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) 40th out of 45 groups with data for 2017, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 48 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 3.53 years | — |
| 1971 | 3.57 years | +1.3% |
| 1972 | 3.68 years | +2.9% |
| 1973 | 3.75 years | +2.0% |
| 1974 | 3.9 years | +4.0% |
| 1975 | 4.02 years | +3.0% |
| 1976 | 4.11 years | +2.4% |
| 1977 | 4.34 years | +5.6% |
| 1978 | 4.61 years | +6.2% |
| 1979 | 4.92 years | +6.7% |
| 1980 | 5.16 years | +4.9% |
| 1981 | 5.43 years | +5.2% |
| 1982 | 5.62 years | +3.5% |
| 1983 | 5.62 years | +0.1% |
| 1984 | 5.58 years | -0.8% |
| 1985 | 5.55 years | -0.5% |
| 1986 | 5.45 years | -1.7% |
| 1987 | 5.43 years | -0.4% |
| 1988 | 5.35 years | -1.6% |
| 1989 | 5.42 years | +1.4% |
| 1990 | 5.35 years | -1.3% |
| 1991 | 5.47 years | +2.4% |
| 1992 | 5.47 years | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 5.53 years | +1.0% |
| 1994 | 5.55 years | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 5.61 years | +1.2% |
| 1996 | 5.53 years | -1.5% |
| 1997 | 5.75 years | +3.9% |
| 1998 | 5.89 years | +2.5% |
| 1999 | 6.01 years | +2.0% |
| 2000 | 6.2 years | +3.1% |
| 2001 | 6.38 years | +3.0% |
| 2002 | 6.59 years | +3.2% |
| 2003 | 6.85 years | +4.0% |
| 2004 | 7.15 years | +4.3% |
| 2005 | 7.41 years | +3.7% |
| 2006 | 7.65 years | +3.2% |
| 2007 | 7.76 years | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 8.02 years | +3.3% |
| 2009 | 8.21 years | +2.3% |
| 2010 | 8.36 years | +1.9% |
| 2011 | 8.51 years | +1.8% |
| 2012 | 8.7 years | +2.2% |
| 2013 | 8.97 years | +3.0% |
| 2014 | 8.88 years | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 8.88 years | -0.0% |
| 2016 | 8.82 years | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 8.85 years | +0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.04 years | 3.53 years | 4.92 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.46 years | 5.16 years | 5.62 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.62 years | 5.35 years | 6.01 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.22 years | 6.2 years | 8.21 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.75 years | 8.36 years | 8.97 years | 8 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
More gender data for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
- Labor force, female 247.09 million (2025)
- Labor force, female, per capita 0.187 units per person (2025)
- Labor force, female, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Labor force, female, annual growth rate 2.97 % change on previous year (2025)
- Labor force, female, per square kilometre 9.83 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Incidence of HIV, ages 15-49, female 1.12 per 1,000 uninfected female population ages 15-49 (2024)
- Incidence of HIV, ages 15-49, male 0.5884 per 1,000 uninfected male population ages 15-49 (2024)
- Incidence of HIV, ages 15-24, female 1.38 per 1,000 uninfected female population ages 15-24 (2024)
- Incidence of HIV, ages 15-24, male 0.4268 per 1,000 uninfected male population ages 15-24 (2024)
- Ratio of female to male youth unemployment rate (% ages 15-24) 127.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) was 8.85 years in 2017, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The highest recorded value was 8.97 years in 2013.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.53 years in 1970.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female?
- Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 40th out of 45 groups with data for 2017.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.1%. 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 Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Expected years of schooling is the number of years a child of school entrance age is expected to spend at school, or university, including years spent on repetition. It is the sum of the age-specific enrolment ratios for primary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary and tertiary education.