15 answers, 9 from Sierra Leone's own official bodies, with a link to each figure.
3,450,104 pupils were enrolled in Sierra Leone's schools in the 2024/25 school year, according to the 2025 Annual School Census of the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education. 52% of them, 1,781,249, were girls, and 2,661,979 were in government-supported schools.
Gross enrolment ratios were 150% in primary, 140% in junior secondary and 90% in senior secondary. Ratios above 100% mean many pupils are older or younger than the official age for that level. Enrolment fell 0.34% from 2024, which the report attributes to improved verification of school records.
Sierra Leone had 13,444 schools and 92,392 teachers in 2024/25, according to the 2025 Annual School Census. 77,773 teachers worked in public schools. The number of schools rose 3% from 13,033 in 2024, and the government owned 1,190 of them, or 9%.
The census also reports facilities: 45.2% of schools had no water source and 72% had no electricity. The average was 53 pupils per classroom. School feeding reached 959,570 pupils, 54% of learners in government-supported pre-primary and primary schools.
48.81% of adults aged 15 and over in Sierra Leone could read and write in 2018, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. The rate for young people aged 15 to 24 was 77.13% that year.
The UIS publishes a modelled estimate of 43.58% for adult literacy and 72.99% for youth literacy in 2019. The 2018 figures come from national survey data, in which people usually report their own reading and writing ability. Youth literacy is higher than adult literacy in both sets of figures.
69.4% of children in Sierra Leone completed primary school in 2019, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. 47.0% completed lower secondary school and 19.6% upper secondary school.
The completion rate is the share of young people a few years above the final grade's age who have finished that level. It is based on household survey data, so it lags behind enrolment figures. Primary completion was 59.6% in 2010 and upper secondary completion 8.6%, so both have risen.
3.78% of children of lower secondary school age in Sierra Leone were out of school in 2024, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. The rate was 14.49% in 2021, 6.81% in 2022 and 8.51% in 2023.
The out-of-school rate is the share of children of the official age for a level who are not enrolled in any school. It is calculated from enrolment and population data, so it changes when either estimate is revised. The large year-to-year swings suggest caution in reading small changes.
Government spending on education in Sierra Leone was 2.62% of GDP in 2023, according to the World Bank. It was 4.91% in 2022 and 5.59% in 2021.
The figure covers current and capital spending by all levels of government, including transfers to private schools, and comes from UNESCO Institute for Statistics data. The 2023 figure is little more than half of the 2022 figure. The Annual School Census reports that the government paid 40% of all teachers in 2024/25.
Only 65% of teachers in Sierra Leone were qualified for the level they taught in 2024/25, according to the 2025 Annual School Census of the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education. 25% of teachers were untrained.
There were 37 pupils per teacher overall, but 58 pupils per qualified teacher, rising to 87 at senior secondary level. The government paid 36,765 teachers, 40% of the total, and 7,590 people entered teaching that year. Of the 92,392 teachers counted, 77,773 worked in public schools.
19.4% of schools in Sierra Leone, 2,606, had no latrines in 2024/25, according to the 2025 Annual School Census of the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education. Only 40% had working handwashing facilities.
There were 93 primary pupils per usable latrine drop hole, 87 in junior secondary and 124 in senior secondary schools. Only 7% of schools had a working library and 4% a working science laboratory. 4% had computers and 3% internet access, though 91% had mobile network coverage. Only 12% had ramps for disabled pupils.
28,156 pupils with disabilities were enrolled in Sierra Leone's schools in 2024/25, according to the 2025 Annual School Census. The most common were visual impairments (7,871) and hearing impairments (6,017), and 61% of these pupils were in primary school.
The census also recorded pregnant schoolgirls: 470 in the third year of junior secondary school and 311 in the second year of senior secondary school. 980 teachers reported having a disability. The figures are reported by head teachers, so they depend on how disability is identified in each school.
The figures below use one definition for every country, so they can differ from national figures.
The latest figure from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, for 2016, is 98.1%. Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 83.9%, and Sierra Leone placed 2nd highest of 22. World rank, highest first: 24th of 133.
86.9%: that is gross secondary school enrolment in Sierra Leone for 2023, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. That is the highest since at least 2011. Sub-Saharan Africa median: 46.9%; Sierra Leone is 2nd highest of 19. Of 138 countries with 2023 data, 95th highest.
In 2019, the adult literacy rate in Sierra Leone was 43.6%, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. It was 34.8% in 2004. It is 12th highest of 15 in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the median is 55.0%. Worldwide: 52nd of 55.
The latest figure from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, for 2023, is 2.6% of GDP. The peak was 5.6% of GDP in 2021 and the low 1.5% of GDP in 2008. Sub-Saharan Africa median: 3.3% of GDP; Sierra Leone is 26th highest of 35. Of 112 countries with 2023 data, 87th highest.
According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the number of primary pupils per teacher in Sierra Leone was 28 in 2018. It is the bottom of the series, which starts in 2011. Sub-Saharan Africa median: 39; Sierra Leone is 18th highest of 23. Of 85 countries with 2018 data, 25th highest.
99.2%: that is the primary completion rate in Sierra Leone for 2024, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Since 2007 it has ranged from 61.3% (2015) to 103.1% (2022). Sub-Saharan Africa median: 77.3%; Sierra Leone is 1st highest of 19. Of 104 countries with 2024 data, 29th highest.
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