Space, beyond standard urban/rural divisions, plays a leading role in the diffusion of educational access. In this paper, using geo-localisation and Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) we analyse spatial inequality in educational access (primary, lower secondary and upper secondary levels) for 13,000 communities from 22 countries in the Eastern and Western African regions. We find that: (i) space matters for educational access after accounting for communities’ contextual backgrounds in spatial econometric models, (ii) the extent of spatial inequality in educational access is higher in countries with lower levels of women’s empowerment, and (iii) spatial educational inequality operate more powerfully in marginalised communities. Educational policies aimed at boosting educational access should consider space-based interventions, looking beyond the traditional rural-urban or regional boundaries. •Study spatial educational inequality (SEI) on educational access for 13,000 communities.•Assess association of SEI with lack of womenŠs empowerment in 22 African countries.•Find that space matters for educational access net of communitiesŠ contextual backgrounds.•SEI operates more powerfully in marginalised communities.•Inequalities in proximal communities have an impact on inequalities in nearby communities.