Education · Sub-Saharan Africa · Lower-middle income
Senegal: education in numbers
Pre-primary enrolment is 17.6% (2021), 158th of 176 in the world and 25th of 39 in Sub-Saharan Africa. Primary enrolment is 85.3% (2024), 173rd of 191 in the world and 34th of 41 in Sub-Saharan Africa. Primary completion is 62.9% (2024), 154th of 168 in the world and 24th of 36 in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Pre-primary enrolment
SenegalSub-Saharan AfricaLower-middle incomeWorld
Primary enrolment
SenegalSub-Saharan AfricaLower-middle incomeWorld
12 indicators
Education: Senegal in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within Sub-Saharan Africa; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.
| Indicator | Latest | World rank | In region | ~2000 | ~2010 | ~2020 | 10-year change | Region | Income group | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolmentPre-primary enrolment, % gross | 17.6%2021 | 158/176 | 25/39 | 2.8% | 12.7% | 16.9% | +4.1 ppsince 2011 | 28.1% | 58.5% | 60.9% | |
| Primary enrolmentPrimary school enrolment, % gross | 85.3%2024 | 173/191 | 34/41 | 68.5% | 83.9% | 84.9% | +1.6 ppsince 2014 | 97.1% | 105.4% | 102.2% | |
| Primary completionPrimary completion rate, % of age group | 62.9%2024 | 154/168 | 24/36 | 38.2% | 57.9% | 60.3% | +2.4 ppsince 2014 | 68.9% | 88.0% | 88.0% | |
| Secondary enrolmentSecondary school enrolment, % gross | 44.1%2023 | 162/176 | 21/34 | 15.2% | 37.1% | 44.8% | −5.0 ppsince 2013 | 45.9% | 68.0% | 77.3% | |
| Lower secondary completionLower secondary completion rate, % of age group | 38.7%2024 | 155/168 | 22/34 | 13.1% | 31.7% | 35.4% | −2.6 ppsince 2014 | 44.4% | 73.7% | 77.9% | |
| Tertiary enrolmentTertiary enrolment, % gross | 15.3%2024 | 139/172 | 10/34 | 3.2%1999 | 7.6% | 13.3% | +4.5 ppsince 2014 | 9.3% | 27.4% | 43.6% | |
| Out-of-school childrenChildren out of school, % of primary school age | 24.5%2024 | 17/178 | 13/38 | 41.8% | 27.6% | 22.9% | +0.3 ppsince 2014 | — | 8.3% | — | |
| Adult literacyAdult literacy rate, % of people 15+ | 50.4%2023 | 132/141 | 33/41 | 39.3%2002 | 51.8%2011 | 46.8%2019 | +6.8 ppsince 2013 | 68.7% | 78.3% | 87.7% | |
| Youth literacyYouth literacy rate, % of people 15–24 | 67.4%2023 | 140/148 | 35/42 | 49.1%2002 | 65.8%2011 | 66.5%2019 | +10.5 ppsince 2013 | 79.0% | 91.9% | 93.1% | |
| Pupils per teacherPupils per teacher, primary | 36.32018 | 26/173 | 22/40 | 50.9 | 33.7 | 36.32018 | −0.3%since 2008 | 37.4 | 28.9 | 23.4 | |
| Education spendingPublic spending on education, % of GDP | 6.2%2023 | 24/184 | 5/43 | 2.5% | 0.5% | 5.7% | +0.5 ppsince 2013 | 3.3% | 3.4% | 3.6% | |
| Education, % of budgetEducation spending, % of government expenditure | 20.9%2025 | 12/179 | 5/42 | 17.6% | 2.5% | 19.2% | −2.9 ppsince 2015 | 15.4% | 13.6% | 14.0% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)“·” — no value reported within two years of that date. World rank counts countries with a recent value.
Better than ten years ago
- Pre-primary enrolment+4.1 pp17.6% in 2021
- Primary completion+2.4 pp62.9% in 2024
- Tertiary enrolment+4.5 pp15.3% in 2024
- Adult literacy+6.8 pp50.4% in 2023
Worse than ten years ago
- Secondary enrolment−5.0 pp44.1% in 2023
- Lower secondary completion−2.6 pp38.7% in 2024
- Out-of-school children+0.3 pp24.5% in 2024
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
neighbours
Senegal and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Senegal. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Senegal | Mali | Guinea | Mauritania | The Gambia | Guinea-Bissau |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolment | 17.6%2021 | 7.6%2020 | 19.7%2021 | 10.5%2015 | 41.9%2022 | 13.2%2014 |
| Primary enrolment | 85.3%2024 | 72.8%2023 | 100.5%2020 | 105.4%2024 | 100.4%2025 | 113.4%2010 |
| Primary completion | 62.9%2024 | 48.4%2023 | 59.9%2020 | 73.4%2020 | 84.2%2025 | 62.6%2010 |
| Secondary enrolment | 44.1%2023 | 38.9%2023 | 38.6%2014 | 36.0%2020 | 107.0%2021 | 34.4%2006 |
| Lower secondary completion | 38.7%2024 | 28.1%2023 | 34.5%2020 | 49.8%2020 | 61.3%2025 | 36.3%2010 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 15.3%2024 | 5.1%2015 | 10.9%2014 | 6.0%2020 | 13.5%2024 | 2.6%2006 |
| Out-of-school children | 24.5%2024 | 34.0%2023 | 14.7%2020 | 11.3%2024 | 16.9%2025 | 30.5%2010 |
| Adult literacy | 50.4%2023 | 35.6%2024 | 39.6%2018 | 59.5%2020 | 51.6%2021 | 63.9%2022 |
| Youth literacy | 67.4%2023 | 50.3%2024 | 53.9%2018 | 70.9%2020 | 67.5%2021 | 82.2%2022 |