New research reveals the cost of international education in Africa in 2023

Key points:

  • The top 3 most expensive cities are all very close together in terms of median prices for international schools. Nairobi, Johannesburg and Casablanca all have median prices of around $5,300 per year.
  • When considering minimum and maximum prices of international schools within a city, Cape Town is the most consistent city in our African research.
  • Of all the world regions included in our research, Africa has the narrowest range of median prices. There is a 29% difference between median prices in the least expensive (Cape Town) and most expensive (Nairobi) cities.

At the International Schools Database, we help local and expat parents choose the perfect international school for their children. Our database allows parents to find, research and compare international schools around the world. Naturally, this means that we gather and analyse a huge amount of information about international schools.

Starting in 2019, we began using this data to evaluate the prices of international schools across the globe. In this article, we share and analyze the prices of international schools in Africa updated to 2023.

Below, we have analysed price data from 5 cities in 4 African countries, in graph and table forms. While we have used all price data available to us as of Dec 31st 2023, there may be additional schools and prices not included in each city. This is because do not make their price data available or because it is unknown to us. Links to additional research focusing on each world region individually and globally can be found at the bottom of this article and here can be found the results of the previous year 2022.

PRICES OF INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS IN AFRICA, PER YEAR

The graph below is known as a box plot graph. It shows a comprehensive view of the range of prices in each city, instead of just an average. A single average price may not necessarily represent the full picture of prices in each destination. Since there is a lot to unpack in this graph, we have also provided a little explanation on how to read the graph easily at the end of the article.

HIGHLIGHTS AND TAKEAWAYS FROM THE RESEARCH FINDINGSNairobi in Kenya, Johannesburg in South Africa, and Casablanca in Morocco are the three most expensive cities for international schools in Africa. However, there is very little difference in costs between all three – less than $100, in fact. The median prices of each city respectively are $5,335, $5,301, and $5,251 per year. So if you were considering moving to Africa, at least you know the cost of international schooling will be relatively similar across the continent.

In fact, of all the world regions included in our research, Africa has the narrowest range of median prices. The difference in the cost of international education in the cheapest city (Cape Town at $3,753) and the most expensive city (Nairobi at $5,335) is 29%. That may seem like a lot when looking at this figure on its own. However, in other continents across the world that figure can be over 1000%.

Of the five cities included in our African data, Cape Town is the most consistent regarding the minimum and maximum range of prices. The minimum cost of an international school in Cape Town is $1,967 per year while the maximum is $5,401. In other African cities the range is much broader. For example, in Kampala the minimum price is $650 per year while the maximum is $22,800. Quite the difference!

You can find a breakdown of exact prices for each African city in the table below. But if Africa isn’t enough, we have also compiled price data for other regions and cities around the world; you can find links to this additional research at the bottom of this article. If you require any further information or have additional questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at andrea@international-schools-database.com.

PRICES OF INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS PER YEAR

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