Tanzania: Primary education, pupils (% female)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, Tanzania's primary education, pupils (% female) fell 0.23 percentage points on 2017 (from 50.32% to 50.09%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1988 to 2017), the average change was +0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.23 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.35 percentage points in 1978 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.37 percentage points in 2000. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 18% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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

How it compares

In 2018, Tanzania had the 10th 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 Tanzania in the 2018 ranking

• Oman — 7th of 88: 50.21%
• Seychelles — 8th of 88: 50.14%
• Burundi — 9th of 88: 50.12%
• Malawi — 11th of 88: 49.95%
• Madagascar — 12th of 88: 49.79%
• Mauritius — 13th of 88: 49.72%

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 49 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 Tanzania

• Primary school starting age (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 14 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 11.39 million (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 92.69% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 95.33% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 90.09% (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 229,840 (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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Questions people ask

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

50.09% in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 10.64 percentage points from 39.45% in 1970. The highest value was 50.84% in 2015 and the lowest 39.44% in 1971.

How does Tanzania rank?

10th highest of 88 economies with data for 2018.

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

In 2018, Tanzania's primary education, pupils (% female) fell 0.23 percentage points on 2017 (from 50.32% to 50.09%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1988 to 2017), the average change was +0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.23 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

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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