| Current Rank | Country | Value | Latest Reading | Previous Rank | Previous Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Equatorial Guinea | 7 | 2021 | 1 | 7 |
| 1 | Burundi | 7 | 2021 | 1 | 7 |
| 1 | Guinea | 7 | 2021 | 1 | 7 |
| 1 | Namibia | 7 | 2021 | 1 | 7 |
| 1 | Niger | 7 | 2021 | 1 | 7 |
| 1 | Gambia | 7 | 2021 | 1 | 7 |
| 1 | Rwanda | 7 | 2021 | 1 | 7 |
| 1 | Mali | 7 | 2021 | 1 | 7 |
| 1 | Tanzania | 7 | 2021 | 1 | 7 |
| 1 | Ethiopia | 7 | 2021 | 1 | 7 |
| 1 | South Africa | 7 | 2021 | 1 | 7 |
| 1 | Zambia | 7 | 2021 | 1 | 7 |
| 13 | Algeria | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Egypt | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Eritrea | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Gabon | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Ghana | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Guinea-Bissau | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Kenya | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Liberia | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Libya | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Lesotho | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Morocco | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Madagascar | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Mozambique | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Mauritania | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Malawi | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Nigeria | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Sudan | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Senegal | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Sierra Leone | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Somalia | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Sao Tome and Principe | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Swaziland | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Seychelles | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Chad | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Togo | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Tunisia | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Uganda | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Zimbabwe | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Benin | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Burkina Faso | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Botswana | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Central African Republic | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Ivory Coast | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Cameroon | 6 | 2020 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Republic of the Congo | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Comoros | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Cape Verde | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 13 | Djibouti | 6 | 2021 | 13 | 6 |
| 52 | Mauritius | 5 | 2021 | 52 | 5 |
Primary school starting age is the age at which students would enter primary education, assuming they had started at the official entrance age for the lowest level of education, had studied full-time throughout and had progressed through the system without repeating or skipping a grade.
