Kenya: Primary education, pupils (% female)

Key figures

Since 1970 it is up 7.16 percentage points from 42.51% in 1970. The World Bank has no value for 5 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2016, Kenya's primary education, pupils (% female) rose 0.09 percentage points on 2015 (from 49.58% to 49.67%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1978 to 2015), the average change was +0.06 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.25 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.16 percentage points in 1974 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.8 percentage points in 2002. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

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

How it compares

In 2016, Kenya had the 1st highest value of the 13 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 Kenya in the 2016 ranking

• St. Kitts and Nevis — 2nd of 13: 49.3%
• Marshall Islands — 3rd of 13: 48.85%
• Naoero — 4th of 13: 48.51%

What this measures

Female pupils as a percentage of total pupils at primary level include enrollments in public and private schools.

Limitations: The percentage of female enrollment is limited in assessing gender parity, because it's affected by the gender composition of population. Ratio of female to male in enrollment rate provides a population adjusted measure of gender parity.

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

All 42 values

Primary education, pupils (% female) in nearby economies

• Angola — 46.86% (2015)
• Benin — 47.67% (2018)
• Botswana — 48.86% (2015)
• Burkina Faso — 48.72% (2018)
• Burundi — 50.12% (2018)
• Cabo Verde — 47.8% (2018)
• Cameroon — 47.01% (2018)
• Central African Republic — 43.61% (2016)
• Chad — 43.36% (2016)
• Comoros — 49.08% (2018)
• Congo, Dem. Rep.

More education data for Kenya

• 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) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 8.04 million (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 98.25% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 96.63% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 99.85% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 0.97 (2019)
• Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP)

Reading data like this

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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Kenya's primary education, pupils (% female)?

49.67% in 2016, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 7.16 percentage points from 42.51% in 1970. The highest value was 49.85% in 2012 and the lowest 42.51% in 1970.

How does Kenya rank?

1st highest of 13 economies with data for 2016.

Is the latest change in primary education, pupils (% female) unusual for Kenya?

In 2016, Kenya's primary education, pupils (% female) rose 0.09 percentage points on 2015 (from 49.58% to 49.67%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1978 to 2015), the average change was +0.06 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.25 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.PRM.ENRL.FE.ZS, 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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