Burkina Faso: School enrollment, secondary (% net)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, Burkina Faso's school enrollment, secondary (% net) rose 1.86 percentage points on 2017 (from 29.14% to 31%).

Across the 15 yearly changes before that (1986 to 2017), the average change was +1.03 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.6 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.98 percentage points in 2011. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2009 to 2018 the straight-line trend is upward, about 1.79 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 99% of the movement over 9 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 35.93% for 2021. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2016 to 2018 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 1.71%, against 2.88% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2018, Burkina Faso had the 40th highest value of the 43 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Burkina Faso in the 2018 ranking

• Eritrea — 36th of 43: 41.58%
• Pakistan — 37th of 43: 37.4%
• Malawi — 38th of 43: 34.24%
• Mauritania — 40th of 43: 30.98%
• Mali — 41st of 43: 29.93%
• Madagascar — 42nd of 43: 29.85%

What this measures

Net enrollment rate is the ratio of children of official school age who are enrolled in school to the population of the corresponding official school age. Secondary education completes the provision of basic education that began at the primary level, and aims at laying the foundations for lifelong learning and human development, by offering more subject- or skill-oriented instruction using more specialized teachers.

Limitations: Enrollment indicators are based on annual school surveys, but do not necessarily reflect actual attendance or dropout rates during the year. Also, the length of education differs across countries and can influence enrollment rates, although the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) tries to minimize the difference. For example, a shorter duration for primary education tends to increase the rate; a longer one to decrease it (in part because older children are more at risk of dropping out). Moreover, age at enrollment may be inaccurately estimated or misstated, especially in communities where registration of births is not strictly enforced.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 24 values

School enrollment, secondary (% net) in nearby economies

• Burundi — 27.52% (2018)
• Cabo Verde — 70.43% (2018)
• Cameroon — 45.99% (2016)
• Eritrea — 41.58% (2018)
• Eswatini — 41.7% (2015)
• Ghana — 57.24% (2019)
• Lesotho — 41.35% (2016)
• Madagascar — 29.85% (2018)
• Malawi — 34.24% (2018)
• Mali — 29.93% (2018)
• Mauritania

More education data for Burkina Faso

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 12 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 3.07 million (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 77.17% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 78.3% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 76.06% (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 91,764 (2024)
• Primary education, teachers (% female)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Burkina Faso's school enrollment, secondary (% net)?

31% in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1983?

It is up 28.53 percentage points from 2.47% in 1983. The highest value was 31% in 2018 and the lowest 2.47% in 1983.

How does Burkina Faso rank?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.SEC.NENR, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://uis.unesco.org/bdds, publisher: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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