School age population, early childhood educational development in North Korea
North Korea: School age population, early childhood educational development was 686,093 in 2025. ▼ Falling
School age population, early childhood educational development in North Korea, 1998–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
In 2025, school age population, early childhood educational development in North Korea stood at 686,093.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.1% on the previous year and up 5.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, early childhood educational development in North Korea peaked at 839,095 in 1998 and was at its lowest, 647,123, in 2014.
That places North Korea 33rd out of 104 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 28 years of available data.
School age population, early childhood educational development in North Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 839,095 | — |
| 1999 | 832,847 | -0.7% |
| 2000 | 827,088 | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 816,675 | -1.3% |
| 2002 | 801,155 | -1.9% |
| 2003 | 785,103 | -2.0% |
| 2004 | 767,937 | -2.2% |
| 2005 | 752,006 | -2.1% |
| 2006 | 736,970 | -2.0% |
| 2007 | 720,639 | -2.2% |
| 2008 | 699,195 | -3.0% |
| 2009 | 670,744 | -4.1% |
| 2010 | 661,285 | -1.4% |
| 2011 | 664,044 | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 665,633 | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 658,561 | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 647,123 | -1.7% |
| 2015 | 647,721 | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 652,102 | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 658,083 | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 664,458 | +1.0% |
| 2019 | 670,155 | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 675,296 | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 680,515 | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 683,464 | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 685,031 | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 687,057 | +0.3% |
| 2025 | 686,093 | -0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 835,971 | 832,847 | 839,095 | 2 |
| 2000s | 757,751 | 670,744 | 827,088 | 10 |
| 2010s | 658,916 | 647,123 | 670,155 | 10 |
| 2020s | 682,909 | 675,296 | 687,057 | 6 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
More education data for North Korea
- Theoretical duration of primary education (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2022)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,021 tertiary education (2022)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of lower secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre-primary education 2 years (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, early childhood educational development in North Korea?
- School age population, early childhood educational development in North Korea was 686,093 in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, early childhood educational development recorded in North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 839,095 in 1998.
- What is the lowest school age population, early childhood educational development recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 647,123 in 2014.
- How does North Korea rank for school age population, early childhood educational development?
- North Korea ranks 33rd out of 104 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, early childhood educational development rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this North Korea data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School age population, early childhood educational development programmes, both sexes (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