Ethiopia: Secondary education, pupils

Key figures

What the numbers say

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 25.2% in 2001 and the biggest yearly fall was 9.7% in 1992. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2006 to 2015 the straight-line trend is upward, about 238,373 a year. A straight line explains 93% of the movement over 8 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 6.35 million for 2018. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2011 to 2015 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 284,577, against 626,304 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

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Ethiopia in the 2015 ranking

• Kuwait — 2nd of 2: 302,047

What this measures

Secondary education pupils is the total number of pupils enrolled at secondary level in public and private schools.

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

All 30 values

Secondary education, pupils in nearby economies

• Angola — 2.59 million (2023)
• Benin — 929,099 (2022)
• Botswana — 175,513 (2021)
• Burkina Faso — 1.19 million (2024)
• Burundi — 590,027 (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 55,831 (2022)
• Cameroon — 2.01 million (2023)
• Central African Republic — 137,844 (2017)
• Chad — 764,990 (2024)
• Comoros — 67,764 (2022)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 7.93 million (2023)

More education data for Ethiopia

• Primary school starting age (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 13 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 0.91 (2021)
• Primary education, pupils — 15.93 million (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 84.42% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 81.41% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 87.32% (2024)
• Primary education, pupils (% 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 Ethiopia's secondary education, pupils?

5.03 million in 2015, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1971?

It is up 3,620% from 135,179 in 1971 (8.57% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 5.03 million in 2015 and the lowest 135,179 in 1971.

Where is Ethiopia's secondary education, pupils heading?

From 2006 to 2015 the straight-line trend is upward, about 238,373 a year. A straight line explains 93% of the movement over 8 observed years. Extending that straight line gives about 6.35 million for 2018. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2011 to 2015 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 284,577, against 626,304 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.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.SEC.ENRL, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API. 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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