Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD): Gross intake ratio in first grade of primary education, total (% of relevant age group)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD)'s gross intake ratio in first grade of primary education, total (% of relevant age group) fell 1.15 percentage points on 2017 (from 114.08% to 112.92%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1988 to 2017), the average change was +0.98 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.29 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 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 7.5 percentage points in 1974 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.09 percentage points in 1983. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2009 to 2018 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.25 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 39% 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.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

Gross intake ratio in first grade of primary education is the number of new entrants in the first grade of primary education regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the population of the official primary entrance age.

Limitations: The quality of data is affected when new entrants and repeaters are not correctly distinguished in the first grade of primary education. Caution is also needed for countries with a total population under 100,000 since the United Nations Population Division neither publish nor endorse single-age data for those countries. The data are highly subject to fluctuations in migration and other factors.

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

All 49 values

Gross intake ratio in first grade of primary education, total (% of relevant age group) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 110.78% (2018)
• Algeria — 101.88% (2018)
• Bahrain — 89.16% (2018)
• Djibouti — 77.45% (2019)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 101.78% (2018)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 105.02% (2017)
• Israel — 103.83% (2017)
• Jordan

More education data for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD)

• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 196.8 million (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 97.1% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 95.97% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 98.21% (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 5.14 million (2024)
• Primary education, teachers (% female) — 49.4% (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD)'s gross intake ratio in first grade of primary education, total (% of relevant age group)?

112.92% in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 46.08 percentage points from 66.84% in 1970. The highest value was 114.99% in 2008 and the lowest 66.84% in 1970.

Is the latest change in gross intake ratio in first grade of primary education, total (% of relevant age group) unusual for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD)?

In 2018, Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD)'s gross intake ratio in first grade of primary education, total (% of relevant age group) fell 1.15 percentage points on 2017 (from 114.08% to 112.92%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1988 to 2017), the average change was +0.98 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.29 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 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.PRM.GINT.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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