China vs India: School age population, pre-primary education, female
China
17.25 million
in 2025
India
31.86 million
in 2025
China rank
2nd
India rank
1st
School age population, pre-primary education, female over time
- China
- India
How they compare
India currently reports 31.86 million against 17.25 million in China, a difference of 14.61 million.
That makes India's figure about 1.8 times China's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 56 shared years of data; in 1970 it was China ahead.
China ranks 2nd and India ranks 1st of 222 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, China averaged higher in 3 and India in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 50.99 million | 16.40 million | 34.59 million | China |
| 1980s | 40.32 million | 20.02 million | 20.30 million | China |
| 1990s | 41.91 million | 27.12 million | 14.80 million | China |
| 2000s | 23.06 million | 35.07 million | 12.01 million | India |
| 2010s | 24.21 million | 34.40 million | 10.19 million | India |
| 2020s | 22.21 million | 32.49 million | 10.28 million | India |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher school age population, pre-primary education, female, China or India?
- India, at 31.86 million against 17.25 million in China as of 2025.
- What is the difference in school age population, pre-primary education, female between China and India?
- 14.61 million, with India ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 56 years are reported by both, from 1970 to 2025.
- How do China and India rank globally for school age population, pre-primary education, female?
- China ranks 2nd and India ranks 1st of 222 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as School age population, pre-primary education, female (number). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
February 2026 Data Release