Sierra Leone: Primary education, pupils (% female)

Key figures

Over five years it is up 0.76 percentage points from 50.09% in 2013. Since 1971 it is up 10.67 percentage points from 40.18% in 1971. The World Bank has no value for 21 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2018, Sierra Leone's primary education, pupils (% female) rose 0.37 percentage points on 2017 (from 50.48% to 50.85%).

Across the 20 yearly changes before that (1972 to 2017), the average change was −0.24 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.68 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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 1.39 percentage points in 1981 and the biggest yearly fall was 6.82 percentage points in 2001. 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 2018, Sierra Leone had the 3rd highest value of the 88 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 Sierra Leone in the 2018 ranking

• Senegal — 1st of 88: 52.52%
• Gambia, The — 2nd of 88: 51.81%
• Bangladesh — 4th of 88: 50.75%
• Mauritania — 5th of 88: 50.7%
• San Marino — 6th of 88: 50.53%

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 27 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 Sierra Leone

• 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 — 2.07 million (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 162.12% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 166.35% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 157.95% (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 46,575 (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

50.85% in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1971?

It is up 10.67 percentage points from 40.18% in 1971. The highest value was 50.85% in 2018 and the lowest 39.29% in 1975.

How does Sierra Leone rank?

3rd highest of 88 economies with data for 2018.

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

In 2018, Sierra Leone's primary education, pupils (% female) rose 0.37 percentage points on 2017 (from 50.48% to 50.85%). Across the 20 yearly changes before that (1972 to 2017), the average change was −0.24 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.68 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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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