Education in Southern Province, Sierra Leone: official figures
The 2025 Annual School Census counted 578,363 pupils in the Southern Province in the 2024/25 school year (16.8% of Sierra Leone's 3,450,104): 30,066 in pre-primary, 407,466 in primary, 90,794 in junior secondary and 50,037 in senior secondary school, across 2,456 schools.
Do children in the Southern Province stay in school to senior secondary?
There were 12 senior secondary pupils for every 100 primary pupils in the Southern Province in 2024/25, the lowest 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 Southern Province?
Schools in the Southern Province had 37 pupils per teacher and 58 pupils per qualified teacher across all levels in 2024/25, 3rd highest 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 Southern Province qualified and paid by the government?
64% of the 15,450 teachers in the Southern 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 Southern Province go to school?
85.1% of children of primary-school age (6 to 11) in the Southern Province were attending primary school in 2019, but only 33.4% of those of secondary-school age (12 to 17) were in secondary school; the lowest 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 Southern Province can read?
37.7% of women and 50.0% of men aged 15 to 49 in the Southern Province could read in 2019, 3rd 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
- 28.8% of teachers in the Southern Province were women in 2024/25, 2nd 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 Southern Province compares with other provinces
Pupils per qualified teacher (all levels) (2024/25)
Southern Province ranks 3 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)
Southern Province ranks 5 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 Southern 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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