Share of children in primary school age who are in school in India
India: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 99.9% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in India, 1820–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
India recorded 99.9% for share of children in primary school age who are in school in 2025.
That represents a change of up 4.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in India peaked at 99.9% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 1820.
India ranks 11th of 209 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in India, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1820 | 0.1% | — |
| 1825 | 0.1% | +37.5% |
| 1830 | 0.1% | +27.3% |
| 1835 | 0.2% | +28.6% |
| 1840 | 0.2% | +27.8% |
| 1845 | 0.3% | +30.4% |
| 1850 | 0.4% | +26.7% |
| 1855 | 0.5% | +28.9% |
| 1860 | 0.6% | +30.6% |
| 1865 | 1.1% | +65.6% |
| 1870 | 1.5% | +39.6% |
| 1875 | 3.0% | +103.4% |
| 1880 | 4.5% | +51.2% |
| 1885 | 5.5% | +21.5% |
| 1890 | 6.1% | +9.9% |
| 1895 | 6.8% | +11.8% |
| 1900 | 7.0% | +2.6% |
| 1905 | 8.0% | +14.9% |
| 1910 | 9.3% | +16.2% |
| 1915 | 10.7% | +14.6% |
| 1920 | 12.4% | +15.8% |
| 1925 | 14.1% | +13.7% |
| 1930 | 16.6% | +18.1% |
| 1935 | 17.5% | +5.4% |
| 1940 | 19.7% | +12.3% |
| 1945 | 19.4% | -1.3% |
| 1950 | 32.6% | +68.2% |
| 1955 | 40.9% | +25.3% |
| 1960 | 47.6% | +16.4% |
| 1965 | 57.8% | +21.3% |
| 1970 | 57.0% | -1.3% |
| 1971 | 60.9% | +6.9% |
| 1975 | 61.7% | +1.2% |
| 1980 | 63.2% | +2.5% |
| 1990 | 76.6% | +21.1% |
| 2000 | 87.9% | +14.7% |
| 2001 | 86.3% | -1.8% |
| 2002 | 86.0% | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 91.0% | +5.8% |
| 2007 | 99.1% | +8.9% |
| 2008 | 99.6% | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 98.2% | -1.4% |
| 2010 | 98.9% | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 97.3% | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 99.3% | +2.1% |
| 2013 | 99.6% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 95.9% | -3.7% |
| 2017 | 94.0% | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 93.6% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 92.6% | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 95.9% | +3.6% |
| 2021 | 97.7% | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 99.8% | +2.2% |
| 2023 | 98.5% | -1.3% |
| 2024 | 99.9% | +1.4% |
| 2025 | 99.9% | -0.0% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 99.9% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 93.7%, 1.1× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- India's 99.9% is above the median for South Asia, which is 96.6%, 1.0× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of children in primary school age who are in school in India changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1875 | +103.4% | 1.5% | 3.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 2 |
| 1830s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 2 |
| 1840s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 2 |
| 1850s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 2 |
| 1860s | 0.9% | 0.6% | 1.1% | 2 |
| 1870s | 2.2% | 1.5% | 3.0% | 2 |
| 1880s | 5.0% | 4.5% | 5.5% | 2 |
| 1890s | 6.4% | 6.1% | 6.8% | 2 |
| 1900s | 7.5% | 7.0% | 8.0% | 2 |
| 1910s | 10.0% | 9.3% | 10.7% | 2 |
| 1920s | 13.2% | 12.4% | 14.1% | 2 |
| 1930s | 17.1% | 16.6% | 17.5% | 2 |
| 1940s | 19.5% | 19.4% | 19.7% | 2 |
| 1950s | 36.8% | 32.6% | 40.9% | 2 |
| 1960s | 52.7% | 47.6% | 57.8% | 2 |
| 1970s | 59.9% | 57.0% | 61.7% | 3 |
| 1980s | 63.2% | 63.2% | 63.2% | 1 |
| 1990s | 76.6% | 76.6% | 76.6% | 1 |
| 2000s | 92.6% | 86.0% | 99.6% | 7 |
| 2010s | 96.4% | 92.6% | 99.6% | 8 |
| 2020s | 98.6% | 95.9% | 99.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near India
More education data for India
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.31 million (2025)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 3.10 million (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 19.37 million (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 18.52 million (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 133.16 million (2025)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 126.12 million (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -8.85 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0862 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in India?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in India was 99.9% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 99.9% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 1820.
- How does India rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- India ranks 11th out of 209 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this India data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children in primary school age who are in school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.