Population of compulsory school age, male (number) (compulsory male) in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Population of compulsory school age, male (number) (compulsory male) was 1.94 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
1.94 million
Change on year
down 0.9%
World rank
61st
of 197 countries
All-time high
2.01 million
in 2019
All-time low
1.56 million
in 2005
Years of data
28
1998–2025
Population of compulsory school age, male in Sri Lanka, 1998–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
The most recent figure for population of compulsory school age, male in Sri Lanka is 1.94 million, measured in 2025.
The figure is down 0.9% on the previous year and up 18.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population of compulsory school age, male in Sri Lanka peaked at 2.01 million in 2019 and was at its lowest, 1.56 million, in 2005.
Sri Lanka ranks 61st of 197 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Population of compulsory school age, male (number) (compulsory male) in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 1.57 million | — |
| 1999 | 1.58 million | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 1.58 million | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 1.59 million | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 1.58 million | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 1.57 million | -0.8% |
| 2004 | 1.56 million | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 1.56 million | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 1.56 million | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 1.57 million | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 1.57 million | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 1.58 million | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 1.58 million | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 1.59 million | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 1.60 million | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 1.61 million | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 1.63 million | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 1.64 million | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 1.99 million | +21.5% |
| 2017 | 2.00 million | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 2.01 million | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 2.01 million | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 2.01 million | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 2.00 million | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 1.99 million | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 1.97 million | -0.7% |
| 2024 | 1.96 million | -0.8% |
| 2025 | 1.94 million | -0.9% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 1.94 million is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 627,819, 3.1× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 1.94 million is below the median for South Asia, which is 2.60 million, 75% of the median. (5 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.57 million | 1.57 million | 1.58 million | 2 |
| 2000s | 1.57 million | 1.56 million | 1.59 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.77 million | 1.58 million | 2.01 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.98 million | 1.94 million | 2.01 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 58 North Korea 2.03 million compare
- 59 South Korea 1.99 million compare
- 60 Zambia 1.97 million compare
- 62 Australia 1.87 million compare
- 63 Poland 1.81 million compare
- 64 Kazakhstan 1.80 million compare
More education data for Sri Lanka
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 155,543 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 224,799 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 214,300 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.54 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.58 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.89 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0715 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population of compulsory school age, male in Sri Lanka?
- Population of compulsory school age, male in Sri Lanka was 1.94 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest population of compulsory school age, male recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 2.01 million in 2019.
- What is the lowest population of compulsory school age, male recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.56 million in 2005.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for population of compulsory school age, male?
- Sri Lanka ranks 61st out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population of compulsory school age, male rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Population of compulsory school age, male (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release