School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)

Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries): School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes was 0.78 years in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
0.78 years
Change on year
up 0.6%
Rank
32nd
of 43 groups
All-time high
0.7803 years
in 2017
All-time low
0.2796 years
in 1973
Years of data
47
1973–2019

School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), 1973–2019

00.20.40.60.8197319962019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2019, school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) stood at 0.78 years.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 50.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) peaked at 0.7803 years in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.2796 years, in 1973.

That places Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) 32nd out of 43 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 47 years of available data.

School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), year by year

Annual values for School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes (years) in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), 1973 to 2019.
Year years Change
1973 0.2796 years
1974 0.2826 years +1.1%
1975 0.287 years +1.6%
1976 0.2917 years +1.6%
1977 0.2963 years +1.6%
1978 0.3009 years +1.6%
1979 0.3023 years +0.5%
1980 0.3076 years +1.7%
1981 0.306 years -0.5%
1982 0.3006 years -1.7%
1983 0.2943 years -2.1%
1984 0.2921 years -0.7%
1985 0.2922 years +0.0%
1986 0.2973 years +1.8%
1987 0.2997 years +0.8%
1988 0.3055 years +1.9%
1989 0.3083 years +0.9%
1990 0.3104 years +0.7%
1991 0.3109 years +0.2%
1992 0.3128 years +0.6%
1993 0.3116 years -0.4%
1994 0.3104 years -0.4%
1995 0.3146 years +1.3%
1996 0.3191 years +1.5%
1997 0.3193 years +0.1%
1998 0.319 years -0.1%
1999 0.3297 years +3.4%
2000 0.3523 years +6.8%
2001 0.3578 years +1.6%
2002 0.3793 years +6.0%
2003 0.4069 years +7.3%
2004 0.4331 years +6.4%
2005 0.442 years +2.1%
2006 0.4677 years +5.8%
2007 0.4877 years +4.3%
2008 0.4829 years -1.0%
2009 0.5176 years +7.2%
2010 0.5214 years +0.7%
2011 0.5643 years +8.2%
2012 0.6474 years +14.7%
2013 0.7127 years +10.1%
2014 0.5804 years -18.6%
2015 0.6266 years +8.0%
2016 0.7765 years +23.9%
2017 0.7803 years +0.5%
2018 0.7755 years -0.6%
2019 0.78 years +0.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 0.2915 years 0.2796 years 0.3023 years 7
1980s 0.3004 years 0.2921 years 0.3083 years 10
1990s 0.3158 years 0.3104 years 0.3297 years 10
2000s 0.4327 years 0.3523 years 0.5176 years 10
2010s 0.6765 years 0.5214 years 0.7803 years 10

Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)

  1. 29 Spain 2.87 years compare
  2. 30 Uruguay 2.85 years compare
  3. 31 San Marino 2.83 years compare
  4. 32 Italy 2.81 years compare
  5. 33 Korea 2.81 years compare
  6. 34 Slovenia 2.77 years compare
  7. 35 Croatia 2.77 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)

All data for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) was 0.78 years in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
The highest recorded value was 0.7803 years in 2017.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
The lowest recorded value was 0.2796 years in 1973.
How does Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) rank for school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes?
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 32nd out of 43 groups with data for 2019.
Is school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
Over the last ten years it is up 50.7%. 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 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries). Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 23 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-pre-primary-both-sexes-years/sub-saharan-africa-ida-and-ibrd-countries/

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About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes (years)
Unit
years
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
236 places, 7,887 data points, 1970–2020
Last refreshed

Number of years a person of school entrance age can expect to spend within the specified level of education. For a child of a certain age a, the school life expectancy is calculated as the sum of the age specific enrolment rates for the levels of education specified. The part of the enrolment that is not distributed by age is divided by the school-age population for the level of education they are enrolled in, and multiplied by the duration of that level of education. The result is then added to the sum of the age-specific enrolment rates. A relatively high SLE indicates greater probability for children to spend more years in education and higher overall retention within the education system. It must be noted that the expected number of years does not necessarily coincide with the expected number of grades of education completed, because of repetition. Since school life expectancy is an average based on participation in different levels of education, the expected number of years of schooling may be pulled down by the magnitude of children who never go to school. Those children who are in school may benefit from many more years of education than the average.