School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in UNICEF: South Asia

UNICEF: South Asia: School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes was 35.12 million in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
35.12 million
Change on year
down 0.4%
Rank
32nd
of 221 groups
All-time high
35.73 million
in 2012
All-time low
31.44 million
in 1999
Years of data
26
1999–2024

School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in UNICEF: South Asia, 1999–2024

010.0M20.0M30.0M40.0M1999201120241999: 31.4M2000: 31.6M2001: 32.2M2002: 32.5M2003: 32.8M2004: 33.0M2005: 33.4M2006: 33.6M2007: 33.8M2008: 34.1M2009: 34.4M2010: 34.8M2011: 35.6M2012: 35.7M2013: 35.7M2014: 35.5M2015: 35.4M2016: 35.2M2017: 35.1M2018: 35.2M2019: 35.3M2020: 35.4M2021: 35.4M2022: 35.4M2023: 35.2M2024: 35.1M

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Analysis

UNICEF: South Asia recorded 35.12 million for school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in 2024.

That represents a change of down 0.4% on the previous year and down 1.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in UNICEF: South Asia peaked at 35.73 million in 2012 and was at its lowest, 31.44 million, in 1999.

That places UNICEF: South Asia 32nd out of 221 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.

School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in UNICEF: South Asia, year by year

Annual values for School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes (number) in UNICEF: South Asia, 1999 to 2024.
Year Value Change
1999 31.44 million
2000 31.61 million +0.5%
2001 32.20 million +1.9%
2002 32.53 million +1.0%
2003 32.78 million +0.8%
2004 33.02 million +0.7%
2005 33.35 million +1.0%
2006 33.58 million +0.7%
2007 33.80 million +0.6%
2008 34.12 million +0.9%
2009 34.45 million +1.0%
2010 34.78 million +1.0%
2011 35.55 million +2.2%
2012 35.73 million +0.5%
2013 35.68 million -0.1%
2014 35.49 million -0.5%
2015 35.35 million -0.4%
2016 35.17 million -0.5%
2017 35.09 million -0.2%
2018 35.20 million +0.3%
2019 35.35 million +0.4%
2020 35.45 million +0.3%
2021 35.42 million -0.1%
2022 35.37 million -0.1%
2023 35.25 million -0.4%
2024 35.12 million -0.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 31.44 million 31.44 million 31.44 million 1
2000s 33.14 million 31.61 million 34.45 million 10
2010s 35.34 million 34.78 million 35.73 million 10
2020s 35.32 million 35.12 million 35.45 million 5

Countries ranked near UNICEF: South Asia

  1. 29 Mozambique 917,926 compare
  2. 30 Myanmar 891,349 compare
  3. 31 France 829,893 compare
  4. 32 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 819,239 compare
  5. 33 Colombia 816,896 compare
  6. 34 Ghana 816,709 compare
  7. 35 Germany 791,898 compare

See the full ranking of 443 places →

More education data for UNICEF: South Asia

All data for UNICEF: South Asia →

Frequently asked questions

What is school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in UNICEF: South Asia?
School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in UNICEF: South Asia was 35.12 million in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes recorded in UNICEF: South Asia?
The highest recorded value was 35.73 million in 2012.
What is the lowest school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes recorded in UNICEF: South Asia?
The lowest recorded value was 31.44 million in 1999.
How does UNICEF: South Asia rank for school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes?
UNICEF: South Asia ranks 32nd out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
Is school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes rising or falling in UNICEF: South Asia?
Over the last ten years it is down 1.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this UNICEF: South Asia data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 26 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, last grade of primary education, both sexes in UNICEF: South Asia. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/school-age-population-last-grade-of-primary-education-both-sexes-number-2/unicef-south-asia/

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-last-grade-of-primary-education-both-sexes-number-2/unicef-south-asia/">School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in UNICEF: South Asia</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes (number)
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
443 places, 20,702 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release