School age population, early childhood education, both sexes in India

India: School age population, early childhood education, both sexes was 66.02 million in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
66.02 million
Change on year
down 1.0%
World rank
1st
of 207 countries
All-time high
75.86 million
in 1998
All-time low
66.02 million
in 2025
Years of data
29
1997–2025

School age population, early childhood education, both sexes in India, 1997–2025

020.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M1997201120251997: 75.4M1998: 75.9M1999: 75.6M2000: 71.8M2001: 73.1M2002: 73.3M2003: 73.6M2004: 74.1M2005: 74.6M2006: 74.9M2007: 74.7M2008: 74.2M2009: 73.5M2010: 72.7M2011: 73.3M2012: 73.0M2013: 72.9M2014: 72.7M2015: 72.4M2016: 71.9M2017: 71.0M2018: 70.0M2019: 69.2M2020: 68.7M2021: 68.5M2022: 67.8M2023: 67.2M2024: 66.7M2025: 66.0M

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Analysis

In 2025, school age population, early childhood education, both sexes in India stood at 66.02 million. That is the lowest value across all 29 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.0% on the previous year and down 8.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school age population, early childhood education, both sexes in India peaked at 75.86 million in 1998 and was at its lowest, 66.02 million, in 2025.

That places India 1st out of 207 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 29 years of available data.

School age population, early childhood education, both sexes in India, year by year

Annual values for School age population, early childhood education, both sexes (number) in India, 1997 to 2025.
Year Value Change
1997 75.39 million
1998 75.86 million +0.6%
1999 75.56 million -0.4%
2000 71.75 million -5.0%
2001 73.06 million +1.8%
2002 73.27 million +0.3%
2003 73.60 million +0.4%
2004 74.11 million +0.7%
2005 74.64 million +0.7%
2006 74.89 million +0.3%
2007 74.70 million -0.3%
2008 74.18 million -0.7%
2009 73.48 million -0.9%
2010 72.74 million -1.0%
2011 73.26 million +0.7%
2012 73.00 million -0.4%
2013 72.89 million -0.1%
2014 72.72 million -0.2%
2015 72.39 million -0.5%
2016 71.89 million -0.7%
2017 71.01 million -1.2%
2018 69.99 million -1.4%
2019 69.22 million -1.1%
2020 68.73 million -0.7%
2021 68.46 million -0.4%
2022 67.81 million -1.0%
2023 67.23 million -0.8%
2024 66.66 million -0.9%
2025 66.02 million -1.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 75.60 million 75.39 million 75.86 million 3
2000s 73.77 million 71.75 million 74.89 million 10
2010s 71.91 million 69.22 million 73.26 million 10
2020s 67.49 million 66.02 million 68.73 million 6

Countries ranked near India

  1. 2 China 36.57 million compare
  2. 3 Nigeria 33.25 million compare
  3. 4 Indonesia 31.17 million compare

See the full ranking of 401 places →

More education data for India

All data for India →

Frequently asked questions

What is school age population, early childhood education, both sexes in India?
School age population, early childhood education, both sexes in India was 66.02 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school age population, early childhood education, both sexes recorded in India?
The highest recorded value was 75.86 million in 1998.
What is the lowest school age population, early childhood education, both sexes recorded in India?
The lowest recorded value was 66.02 million in 2025.
How does India rank for school age population, early childhood education, both sexes?
India ranks 1st out of 207 countries with data for 2025.
Is school age population, early childhood education, both sexes rising or falling in India?
Over the last ten years it is down 8.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this India data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School age population, early childhood education, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

School age population, early childhood education, both sexes in India. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 05 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/school-age-population-early-childhood-education-both-sexes-number-2/india/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/school-age-population-early-childhood-education-both-sexes-number-2/india/">School age population, early childhood education, both sexes in India</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
School age population, early childhood education, both sexes (number)
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
401 places, 9,808 data points, 1971–2025
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release