Education in Northern Province, Sierra Leone: official figures
The 2025 Annual School Census counted 604,344 pupils in the Northern Province in the 2024/25 school year (17.5% of Sierra Leone's 3,450,104): 29,736 in pre-primary, 386,951 in primary, 119,277 in junior secondary and 68,380 in senior secondary school, across 2,516 schools.
Do children in the Northern Province stay in school to senior secondary?
There were 18 senior secondary pupils for every 100 primary pupils in the Northern Province in 2024/25, 3rd highest of the 5 regions (Sierra Leone: 25), a rough sign of how many children stay in school to the end of secondary.
Source: Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (published by Statistics Sierra Leone) · saved copyHow many pupils are there per teacher in the Northern Province?
Schools in the Northern Province had 35 pupils per teacher and 50 pupils per qualified teacher across all levels in 2024/25, 2nd lowest of the 5 regions for pupils per qualified teacher (Sierra Leone: 37 and 58).
Source: Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (published by Statistics Sierra Leone) · saved copyAre teachers in the Northern Province qualified and paid by the government?
71% of the 17,187 teachers in the Northern Province held a teaching qualification in 2024/25 and 44% were on the government payroll (Sierra Leone: 65% and 40%).
Source: Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (published by Statistics Sierra Leone) · saved copyHow many children in the Northern Province go to school?
86.2% of children of primary-school age (6 to 11) in the Northern Province were attending primary school in 2019, but only 45.3% of those of secondary-school age (12 to 17) were in secondary school; 2nd highest of the 5 regions for secondary attendance (Sierra Leone: 86.8% and 45.1%).
Source: Statistics Sierra Leone and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (with ICF, The DHS Program) · saved copyHow many adults in the Northern Province can read?
38.5% of women and 58.9% of men aged 15 to 49 in the Northern Province could read in 2019, 2nd highest of the 5 regions for women (Sierra Leone: 42.8% and 62.2%).
Source: Statistics Sierra Leone and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (with ICF, The DHS Program) · saved copyMore figures
- 28.7% of teachers in the Northern Province were women in 2024/25, 3rd highest of the 5 regions (Sierra Leone: 30.6%). Source: Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (published by Statistics Sierra Leone) · saved copy
How Northern Province compares with other provinces
Pupils per qualified teacher (all levels) (2024/25)
Northern Province ranks 4 of 5, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Pupils per qualified teacher (all levels) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | North West Province | 76 |
| 2 | Eastern Province | 67 |
| 3 | Southern Province | 58 |
| 4 | Northern Province | 50 |
| 5 | Western Area | 48 |
Secondary school net attendance ratio (2019)
Northern Province ranks 2 of 5, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Secondary school net attendance ratio |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Western Area | 62.4% |
| 2 | Northern Province | 45.3% |
| 3 | Eastern Province | 42.7% |
| 4 | North West Province | 38.6% |
| 5 | Southern Province | 33.4% |
More on Northern Province: overview · economy and jobs · health · poverty and living standards · Sierra Leone
Sources
- Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (published by Statistics Sierra Leone): 2025 Annual School Census Report, annex tables by region (schools, enrolment, teachers, pupil-teacher ratios), school year 2024/25, read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 8102ec32f4bc…)
- Statistics Sierra Leone and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (with ICF, The DHS Program): Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Survey 2019, final report: tables by province (water, sanitation, wealth, schooling, fertility, child health, nutrition, HIV, partner violence), read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 c4e747e7cf70…)
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