School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in OECD members
OECD members: School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes was 16.57 million number in 2019. ▼ Falling
Latest (2019)
16.57 million number
Change on year
up 1.0%
Rank
23rd
of 45 groups
All-time high
18.09 million number
in 1975
All-time low
16.16 million number
in 2015
Years of data
50
1970–2019
School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in OECD members, 1970–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.
Analysis
In 2019, school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in OECD members stood at 16.57 million number.
The figure is up 1.0% on the previous year and up 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in OECD members peaked at 18.09 million number in 1975 and was at its lowest, 16.16 million number, in 2015.
OECD members ranks 23rd of 45 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 50 years of available data.
School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in OECD members, year by year
| Year | number | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 17.46 million number | — |
| 1971 | 17.65 million number | +1.1% |
| 1972 | 17.81 million number | +0.9% |
| 1973 | 17.95 million number | +0.7% |
| 1974 | 18.06 million number | +0.6% |
| 1975 | 18.09 million number | +0.2% |
| 1976 | 18.02 million number | -0.4% |
| 1977 | 17.94 million number | -0.4% |
| 1978 | 17.88 million number | -0.4% |
| 1979 | 17.78 million number | -0.6% |
| 1980 | 17.67 million number | -0.6% |
| 1981 | 17.63 million number | -0.2% |
| 1982 | 17.62 million number | -0.1% |
| 1983 | 17.59 million number | -0.1% |
| 1984 | 17.59 million number | -0.0% |
| 1985 | 17.57 million number | -0.1% |
| 1986 | 17.45 million number | -0.7% |
| 1987 | 17.29 million number | -0.9% |
| 1988 | 17.14 million number | -0.8% |
| 1989 | 17.01 million number | -0.8% |
| 1990 | 16.92 million number | -0.5% |
| 1991 | 16.92 million number | -0.0% |
| 1992 | 16.97 million number | +0.3% |
| 1993 | 17.03 million number | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 17.09 million number | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 17.13 million number | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 17.15 million number | +0.1% |
| 1997 | 17.12 million number | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 17.12 million number | -0.0% |
| 1999 | 17.05 million number | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 17.07 million number | +0.1% |
| 2001 | 17.14 million number | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 17.30 million number | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 17.23 million number | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 17.13 million number | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 17.04 million number | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 16.91 million number | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 16.82 million number | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 16.67 million number | -0.9% |
| 2009 | 16.54 million number | -0.8% |
| 2010 | 16.45 million number | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 16.45 million number | -0.0% |
| 2012 | 16.43 million number | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 16.27 million number | -0.9% |
| 2014 | 16.17 million number | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 16.16 million number | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 16.22 million number | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 16.33 million number | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 16.42 million number | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 16.57 million number | +1.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 17.86 million number | 17.46 million number | 18.09 million number | 10 |
| 1980s | 17.45 million number | 17.01 million number | 17.67 million number | 10 |
| 1990s | 17.05 million number | 16.92 million number | 17.15 million number | 10 |
| 2000s | 16.98 million number | 16.54 million number | 17.30 million number | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.35 million number | 16.16 million number | 16.57 million number | 10 |
Countries ranked near OECD members
More education data for OECD members
- Population ages 0-14 16.4% (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 116.41 million (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 6.28 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 91.38 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.2049 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0654 units per person (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Population ages 15-64 64.5% (2025)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in OECD members?
- School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in OECD members was 16.57 million number in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes recorded in OECD members?
- The highest recorded value was 18.09 million number in 1975.
- What is the lowest school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes recorded in OECD members?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.16 million number in 2015.
- How does OECD members rank for school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes?
- OECD members ranks 23rd out of 45 groups with data for 2019.
- Is school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes rising or falling in OECD members?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this OECD members 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 — 50 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Population of the age-group theoretically corresponding to the last grade of primary school as indicated by theoretical entrance age and duration.