São Tomé and Principe: Primary education, pupils

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2017, São Tomé and Principe's primary education, pupils rose 2.1% on 2016 (from 36,394 to 37,172).

Across the 28 yearly changes before that (1972 to 2016), the average change was +3.8% and a typical year strayed about 9.5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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 32.3% in 1976 and the biggest yearly fall was 18% in 1974. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2008 to 2017 the straight-line trend is upward, about 395.79 a year. A straight line explains 79% of the movement over 10 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 38,101 for 2020. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2015 to 2017 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 243.21, against 1,882 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 São Tomé and Principe in the 2017 ranking

• Uganda — 1st of 2: 8.84 million

What this measures

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

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

All 37 values

Primary education, pupils in nearby economies

• Angola — 5.38 million (2023)
• Benin — 2.4 million (2022)
• Botswana — 381,674 (2022)
• Burkina Faso — 3.07 million (2024)
• Burundi — 2.52 million (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 61,167 (2022)
• Cameroon — 5.29 million (2024)
• Central African Republic — 813,767 (2016)
• Chad — 3.05 million (2024)
• Comoros — 102,152 (2024)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 21.15 million (2023)
• Congo, Rep.

More education data for São Tomé and Principe

• 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)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 110.38% (2017)
• School enrollment, primary, private (% of total primary) — 1.38% (2017)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 0.97 (2017)
• Primary education, pupils (% female) — 48.67% (2017)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross)

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 São Tomé and Principe's primary education, pupils?

37,172 in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1971?

It is up 312.2% from 9,018 in 1971 (3.13% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 37,172 in 2017 and the lowest 9,018 in 1971.

Is the latest change in primary education, pupils unusual for São Tomé and Principe?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.PRM.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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