School age population, one year before the official primary entry in China
China: School age population, one year before the official primary entry was 14.47 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
14.47 million
Change on year
down 4.8%
World rank
2nd
of 222 countries
All-time high
28.63 million
in 1970
All-time low
14.47 million
in 2025
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School age population, one year before the official primary entry in China, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
In 2025, school age population, one year before the official primary entry in China stood at 14.47 million. That is the lowest value across all 56 years on record.
The figure is down 4.8% on the previous year and down 18.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, one year before the official primary entry in China peaked at 28.63 million in 1970 and was at its lowest, 14.47 million, in 2025.
That places China 2nd out of 222 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 56 years of available data.
School age population, one year before the official primary entry in China, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 28.63 million | — |
| 1971 | 25.87 million | -9.6% |
| 1972 | 26.03 million | +0.6% |
| 1973 | 25.43 million | -2.3% |
| 1974 | 24.06 million | -5.4% |
| 1975 | 27.87 million | +15.8% |
| 1976 | 27.38 million | -1.7% |
| 1977 | 28.04 million | +2.4% |
| 1978 | 26.61 million | -5.1% |
| 1979 | 25.80 million | -3.0% |
| 1980 | 25.08 million | -2.8% |
| 1981 | 23.36 million | -6.9% |
| 1982 | 21.19 million | -9.3% |
| 1983 | 20.30 million | -4.2% |
| 1984 | 18.83 million | -7.2% |
| 1985 | 18.83 million | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 19.73 million | +4.8% |
| 1987 | 20.28 million | +2.8% |
| 1988 | 21.09 million | +4.0% |
| 1989 | 22.88 million | +8.5% |
| 1990 | 20.40 million | -10.8% |
| 1991 | 21.57 million | +5.8% |
| 1992 | 22.74 million | +5.4% |
| 1993 | 24.56 million | +8.0% |
| 1994 | 26.00 million | +5.9% |
| 1995 | 24.96 million | -4.0% |
| 1996 | 25.72 million | +3.1% |
| 1997 | 26.54 million | +3.2% |
| 1998 | 21.42 million | -19.3% |
| 1999 | 19.96 million | -6.8% |
| 2000 | 19.17 million | -4.0% |
| 2001 | 18.56 million | -3.2% |
| 2002 | 18.11 million | -2.5% |
| 2003 | 17.48 million | -3.5% |
| 2004 | 16.50 million | -5.6% |
| 2005 | 16.22 million | -1.7% |
| 2006 | 16.93 million | +4.3% |
| 2007 | 16.03 million | -5.3% |
| 2008 | 15.86 million | -1.1% |
| 2009 | 15.74 million | -0.8% |
| 2010 | 16.01 million | +1.7% |
| 2011 | 16.18 million | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 16.47 million | +1.7% |
| 2013 | 16.83 million | +2.2% |
| 2014 | 17.37 million | +3.2% |
| 2015 | 17.72 million | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 17.62 million | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 17.55 million | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 18.98 million | +8.1% |
| 2019 | 18.06 million | -4.9% |
| 2020 | 18.53 million | +2.7% |
| 2021 | 17.31 million | -6.6% |
| 2022 | 18.14 million | +4.7% |
| 2023 | 18.08 million | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 15.20 million | -15.9% |
| 2025 | 14.47 million | -4.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 26.57 million | 24.06 million | 28.63 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 21.16 million | 18.83 million | 25.08 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 23.39 million | 19.96 million | 26.54 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 17.06 million | 15.74 million | 19.17 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.28 million | 16.01 million | 18.98 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.95 million | 14.47 million | 18.53 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
More education data for China
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 19.36 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 97.98 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 108.57 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9587 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0771 units per person (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 108.57 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 0.9587 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, one year before the official primary entry in China?
- School age population, one year before the official primary entry in China was 14.47 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, one year before the official primary entry recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 28.63 million in 1970.
- What is the lowest school age population, one year before the official primary entry recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.47 million in 2025.
- How does China rank for school age population, one year before the official primary entry?
- China ranks 2nd out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, one year before the official primary entry rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School age population, one year before the official primary entry age, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release