School-age population in Iran
Iran: School-age population was 4.17 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
4.17 million
Change on year
up 2.2%
World rank
5th
of 72 countries
All-time high
5.79 million
in 1998
All-time low
2.09 million
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School-age population in Iran, 1970–2025
Source: UNICEF.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school-age population in Iran is 4.17 million, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.2% on the previous year and up 83.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school-age population in Iran peaked at 5.79 million in 1998 and was at its lowest, 2.09 million, in 1970.
Iran ranks 5th of 72 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.44 million | 2.09 million | 2.76 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.20 million | 2.85 million | 3.75 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.11 million | 4.00 million | 5.79 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.84 million | 3.72 million | 5.73 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.15 million | 2.27 million | 3.63 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.96 million | 3.74 million | 4.17 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iran
More education data for Iran
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 372,396 (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 1 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 5 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 69.4% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 22.0% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 101.96 (2023)
- School enrollment, primary 102.0% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school-age population in Iran?
- School-age population in Iran was 4.17 million in 2025, according to UNICEF.
- What is the highest school-age population recorded in Iran?
- The highest recorded value was 5.79 million in 1998.
- What is the lowest school-age population recorded in Iran?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.09 million in 1970.
- How does Iran rank for school-age population?
- Iran ranks 5th out of 72 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school-age population rising or falling in Iran?
- Over the last ten years it is up 83.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iran data come from?
- The figures come from UNICEF, published as part of School-age population (lower secondary level). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required).