School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income)
WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income): School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes was 16.11 million in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
16.11 million
Change on year
up 1.1%
Rank
85th
of 221 groups
All-time high
16.11 million
in 2024
All-time low
5.13 million
in 1970
Years of data
55
1970–2024
School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income), 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income) recorded 16.11 million for school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in 2024. That is the highest value across all 55 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.1% on the previous year and up 22.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income) peaked at 16.11 million in 2024 and was at its lowest, 5.13 million, in 1970.
That places WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income) 85th out of 221 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 55 years of available data.
School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income), year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 5.13 million | — |
| 1971 | 5.32 million | +3.8% |
| 1972 | 5.49 million | +3.1% |
| 1973 | 5.68 million | +3.4% |
| 1974 | 5.89 million | +3.8% |
| 1975 | 6.04 million | +2.5% |
| 1976 | 6.19 million | +2.5% |
| 1977 | 6.36 million | +2.6% |
| 1978 | 6.53 million | +2.8% |
| 1979 | 6.70 million | +2.6% |
| 1980 | 6.87 million | +2.5% |
| 1981 | 7.03 million | +2.3% |
| 1982 | 7.18 million | +2.2% |
| 1983 | 7.36 million | +2.4% |
| 1984 | 7.56 million | +2.8% |
| 1985 | 7.80 million | +3.1% |
| 1986 | 8.05 million | +3.2% |
| 1987 | 8.35 million | +3.7% |
| 1988 | 8.63 million | +3.4% |
| 1989 | 8.94 million | +3.6% |
| 1990 | 9.37 million | +4.7% |
| 1991 | 9.73 million | +3.9% |
| 1992 | 10.07 million | +3.5% |
| 1993 | 10.51 million | +4.3% |
| 1994 | 10.87 million | +3.4% |
| 1995 | 11.16 million | +2.6% |
| 1996 | 11.42 million | +2.3% |
| 1997 | 11.64 million | +2.0% |
| 1998 | 11.84 million | +1.7% |
| 1999 | 12.02 million | +1.5% |
| 2000 | 12.15 million | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 12.26 million | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 12.33 million | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 12.33 million | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 12.32 million | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 12.27 million | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 12.30 million | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 12.30 million | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 12.32 million | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 12.48 million | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 12.66 million | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 12.78 million | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 12.89 million | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 13.04 million | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 13.11 million | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 13.34 million | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 13.67 million | +2.4% |
| 2017 | 14.02 million | +2.6% |
| 2018 | 14.45 million | +3.0% |
| 2019 | 14.87 million | +2.9% |
| 2020 | 15.23 million | +2.4% |
| 2021 | 15.49 million | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 15.73 million | +1.5% |
| 2023 | 15.94 million | +1.3% |
| 2024 | 16.11 million | +1.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.93 million | 5.13 million | 6.70 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 7.78 million | 6.87 million | 8.94 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.86 million | 9.37 million | 12.02 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.31 million | 12.15 million | 12.48 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.48 million | 12.66 million | 14.87 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.70 million | 15.23 million | 16.11 million | 5 |
Countries ranked near WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income)
- 82 Tunisia 221,540 compare
- 83 Honduras 214,609 compare
- 84 Sierra Leone 209,385 compare
- 85 Romania 203,679 compare
- 86 Dominican Republic 190,906 compare
- 87 Netherlands 187,030 compare
- 88 Jordan 186,743 compare
More education data for WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 2.74 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 8.74 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 3.82 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 8.80 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 1.85 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.02 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 29.02 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.80 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 32.64 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 4.06 % change on previous year (2024)
All data for WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income)?
- School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income) was 16.11 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 WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income)?
- The highest recorded value was 16.11 million in 2024.
- What is the lowest school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes recorded in WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.13 million in 1970.
- How does WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income) rank for school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes?
- WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income) ranks 85th out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
- Is school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes rising or falling in WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 22.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income) 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 — 55 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release