School life expectancy, secondary, female in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone: School life expectancy, secondary, female was 2.9 years in 2017. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2017)
2.9 years
Change on year
up 4.0%
World rank
167th
of 195 countries
All-time high
2.9 years
in 2017
All-time low
0.3585 years
in 1971
Years of data
21
1971–2017

School life expectancy, secondary, female in Sierra Leone, 1971–2017

01231971199420171971: 0.358 years1972: 0.392 years1973: 0.438 years1974: 0.474 years1975: 0.494 years1976: 0.518 years1977: 0.541 years1978: 0.557 years1984: 0.79 years1985: 0.835 years1988: 0.884 years1989: 0.752 years1990: 0.762 years1991: 0.796 years2001: 1.2 years2011: 2 years2012: 2.4 years2013: 2.5 years2015: 2.6 years2016: 2.8 years2017: 2.9 years

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.

Analysis

The most recent figure for school life expectancy, secondary, female in Sierra Leone is 2.9 years, measured in 2017. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.

That represents a change of up 4.0% on the previous year and up 42.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, secondary, female in Sierra Leone peaked at 2.9 years in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.3585 years, in 1971.

That places Sierra Leone 167th out of 195 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

School life expectancy, secondary, female in Sierra Leone, year by year

Annual values for School life expectancy, secondary, female (years) in Sierra Leone, 1971 to 2017.
Year years Change
1971 0.3585 years
1972 0.3917 years +9.3%
1973 0.4382 years +11.9%
1974 0.4741 years +8.2%
1975 0.4942 years +4.2%
1976 0.5176 years +4.7%
1977 0.5407 years +4.5%
1978 0.5566 years +2.9%
1984 0.7896 years +41.9%
1985 0.8348 years +5.7%
1988 0.8838 years +5.9%
1989 0.7515 years -15.0%
1990 0.7622 years +1.4%
1991 0.7961 years +4.4%
2001 1.22 years +53.4%
2011 2.03 years +66.5%
2012 2.44 years +20.0%
2013 2.54 years +3.9%
2015 2.62 years +3.5%
2016 2.79 years +6.2%
2017 2.9 years +4.0%

Sierra Leone compared with similar countries

  • Sierra Leone's 2.9 years is above the median for low income countries, which is 2.25 years, 1.3× the median. (23 countries reporting)
  • Sierra Leone's 2.9 years is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.94 years, 98% of the median. (47 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where School life expectancy, secondary, female in Sierra Leone changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2011 +66.5% 1.22 years 2.03 years
2001 +53.4% 0.7961 years 1.22 years
1984 +41.9% 0.5566 years 0.7896 years

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 0.4715 years 0.3585 years 0.5566 years 8
1980s 0.8149 years 0.7515 years 0.8838 years 4
1990s 0.7791 years 0.7622 years 0.7961 years 2
2000s 1.22 years 1.22 years 1.22 years 1
2010s 2.55 years 2.03 years 2.9 years 6

Countries ranked near Sierra Leone

  1. 164 Burundi 3.06 years compare
  2. 165 Guatemala 3.01 years compare
  3. 166 Gambia 2.94 years compare
  4. 168 Mauritania 2.89 years compare
  5. 169 Pakistan 2.87 years compare
  6. 170 Rwanda 2.87 years compare

See the full ranking of 195 places →

More reference data data for Sierra Leone

All data for Sierra Leone →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, secondary, female in Sierra Leone?
School life expectancy, secondary, female in Sierra Leone was 2.9 years in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school life expectancy, secondary, female recorded in Sierra Leone?
The highest recorded value was 2.9 years in 2017.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, secondary, female recorded in Sierra Leone?
The lowest recorded value was 0.3585 years in 1971.
How does Sierra Leone rank for school life expectancy, secondary, female?
Sierra Leone ranks 167th out of 195 countries with data for 2017.
Is school life expectancy, secondary, female rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
Over the last ten years it is up 42.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, secondary, female (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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School life expectancy, secondary, female in Sierra Leone. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-secondary-female-years/sierra-leone/

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About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, secondary, female (years)
Unit
years
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
195 places, 5,786 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.