Kenya: Secondary education, general pupils

Key figures

Since 1970 it is up 1,615% from 290,706 in 1970 (6.37% a year on average, compounded). 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 secondary education, general pupils rose 5.5% on 2015 (from 4.73 million to 4.99 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1978 to 2015), the average change was +6.1% and a typical year strayed about 6.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations below 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 30.2% in 1985 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.8% in 1994. 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 2nd highest value of the 15 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

• Yemen, Rep. — 2nd of 15: 1.91 million
• Angola — 3rd of 15: 1.75 million
• Cameroon — 4th of 15: 1.73 million

What this measures

Secondary general pupils are the number of secondary students enrolled in general education programs, including teacher training.

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

All 42 values

Secondary education, general pupils in nearby economies

• Angola — 1.75 million (2016)
• Benin — 965,124 (2016)
• Botswana — 169,489 (2015)
• Burkina Faso — 1.25 million (2018)
• Burundi — 606,024 (2018)
• Cabo Verde — 52,143 (2018)
• Cameroon — 1.73 million (2016)
• Central African Republic — 132,695 (2017)
• Chad — 527,321 (2016)
• Comoros — 73,695 (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

• 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 Kenya's secondary education, general pupils?

4.99 million in 2016, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 1,615% from 290,706 in 1970 (6.37% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 4.99 million in 2016 and the lowest 290,706 in 1970.

How does Kenya rank?

2nd highest of 15 economies with data for 2016.

Is the latest change in secondary education, general pupils unusual for Kenya?

In 2016, Kenya's secondary education, general pupils rose 5.5% on 2015 (from 4.73 million to 4.99 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1978 to 2015), the average change was +6.1% and a typical year strayed about 6.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations below 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.SEC.ENRL.GC, 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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