Enrolment in tertiary education, ISCED 5 programmes, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa: Enrolment in tertiary education, ISCED 5 programmes, both sexes was 1.71 million number in 2018. ▲ Rising

Latest (2018)
1.71 million number
Change on year
up 0.7%
Rank
24th
of 43 groups
All-time high
1.82 million number
in 2015
All-time low
759,211 number
in 1998
Years of data
21
1998–2018

Enrolment in tertiary education, ISCED 5 programmes, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1998–2018

0500.0k1.0M1.5M2.0M1998200820181998: 759.2k number1999: 811.2k number2000: 917.3k number2001: 1.0M number2002: 1.1M number2003: 1.2M number2004: 1.2M number2005: 1.4M number2006: 1.4M number2007: 1.4M number2008: 1.5M number2009: 1.5M number2010: 1.6M number2011: 1.6M number2012: 1.6M number2013: 1.7M number2014: 1.8M number2015: 1.8M number2016: 1.7M number2017: 1.7M number2018: 1.7M number

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.

Analysis

Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 1.71 million number for enrolment in tertiary education, isced 5 programmes, both sexes in 2018.

The figure is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 16.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, enrolment in tertiary education, isced 5 programmes, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 1.82 million number in 2015 and was at its lowest, 759,211 number, in 1998.

Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 24th of 43 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 785,201 number 759,211 number 811,191 number 2
2000s 1.27 million number 917,299 number 1.53 million number 10
2010s 1.69 million number 1.58 million number 1.82 million number 9

Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa

  1. 21 Thailand 345,866 number compare
  2. 22 United Kingdom 284,245 number compare
  3. 23 Saudi Arabia 256,004 number compare
  4. 24 Greece 224,478 number compare
  5. 25 Bangladesh 203,373 number compare
  6. 26 Morocco 188,014 number
  7. 27 Ghana 175,090 number compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More reference data data for Sub-Saharan Africa

All data for Sub-Saharan Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is enrolment in tertiary education, isced 5 programmes, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Enrolment in tertiary education, isced 5 programmes, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa was 1.71 million number in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest enrolment in tertiary education, isced 5 programmes, both sexes recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
The highest recorded value was 1.82 million number in 2015.
What is the lowest enrolment in tertiary education, isced 5 programmes, both sexes recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 759,211 number in 1998.
How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for enrolment in tertiary education, isced 5 programmes, both sexes?
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 24th out of 43 groups with data for 2018.
Is enrolment in tertiary education, isced 5 programmes, both sexes rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 16.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Enrolment in tertiary education, ISCED 5 programmes, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Enrolment in tertiary education, ISCED 5 programmes, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 21 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/enrolment-in-tertiary-education-isced-5-programmes-both-sexes-number/sub-saharan-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/enrolment-in-tertiary-education-isced-5-programmes-both-sexes-number/sub-saharan-africa/">Enrolment in tertiary education, ISCED 5 programmes, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Enrolment in tertiary education, ISCED 5 programmes, both sexes (number)
Unit
number
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
188 places, 2,883 data points, 1997–2020
Last refreshed

Total number of students enrolled in public and private short-cycle tertiary education programmes (ISCED 5).