Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Italy
Italy: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 97.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Italy, 1820–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of children in primary school age who are in school in Italy is 97.9%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.5% on the previous year and down 1.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Italy peaked at 100.0% in 1935 and was at its lowest, 15.3%, in 1820.
Italy ranks 77th of 209 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 16.4% | 15.3% | 17.5% | 2 |
| 1830s | 21.2% | 19.9% | 22.5% | 2 |
| 1840s | 26.9% | 25.4% | 28.4% | 2 |
| 1850s | 33.5% | 31.8% | 35.3% | 2 |
| 1860s | 38.3% | 37.5% | 39.0% | 2 |
| 1870s | 53.4% | 49.8% | 57.0% | 2 |
| 1880s | 61.4% | 60.5% | 62.4% | 2 |
| 1890s | 64.8% | 64.0% | 65.7% | 2 |
| 1900s | 69.7% | 68.3% | 71.1% | 2 |
| 1910s | 79.4% | 78.8% | 79.9% | 2 |
| 1920s | 78.7% | 78.3% | 79.1% | 2 |
| 1930s | 98.4% | 96.8% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1940s | 97.4% | 94.8% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1950s | 95.6% | 92.7% | 98.6% | 2 |
| 1960s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1970s | 99.0% | 98.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 96.7% | 96.7% | 96.7% | 1 |
| 2000s | 99.7% | 99.6% | 99.8% | 9 |
| 2010s | 98.9% | 98.3% | 99.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 98.0% | 97.5% | 98.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Italy
More education data for Italy
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 63.2% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 11.7% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 11 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 103.6% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 250,961 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.21 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 103.0% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Italy?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Italy was 97.9% in 2023, 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 Italy?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1935.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Italy?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.3% in 1820.
- How does Italy rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- Italy ranks 77th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Italy?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Italy 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.
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About this data
The share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.