School age population, one year before the official primary entry in UNICEF: Western Balkans
UNICEF: Western Balkans: School age population, one year before the official primary entry was 143,815 in 2024. ▼ Falling
School age population, one year before the official primary entry in UNICEF: Western Balkans, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
UNICEF: Western Balkans recorded 143,815 for school age population, one year before the official primary entry in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 28 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.9% on the previous year and down 12.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, one year before the official primary entry in UNICEF: Western Balkans peaked at 268,423 in 1970 and was at its lowest, 143,815, in 2024.
UNICEF: Western Balkans ranks 216th of 221 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 28 years of available data.
School age population, one year before the official primary entry in UNICEF: Western Balkans, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 268,423 | — |
| 1971 | 267,527 | -0.3% |
| 1999 | 226,588 | -15.3% |
| 2000 | 224,721 | -0.8% |
| 2001 | 223,376 | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 227,276 | +1.7% |
| 2003 | 220,422 | -3.0% |
| 2004 | 209,385 | -5.0% |
| 2005 | 201,363 | -3.8% |
| 2006 | 195,498 | -2.9% |
| 2007 | 196,764 | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 187,964 | -4.5% |
| 2009 | 192,596 | +2.5% |
| 2010 | 187,454 | -2.7% |
| 2011 | 175,565 | -6.3% |
| 2012 | 169,016 | -3.7% |
| 2013 | 166,001 | -1.8% |
| 2014 | 164,076 | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 164,622 | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 164,564 | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 157,385 | -4.4% |
| 2018 | 158,527 | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 160,114 | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 157,322 | -1.7% |
| 2021 | 154,689 | -1.7% |
| 2022 | 151,461 | -2.1% |
| 2023 | 148,118 | -2.2% |
| 2024 | 143,815 | -2.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 267,975 | 267,527 | 268,423 | 2 |
| 1990s | 226,588 | 226,588 | 226,588 | 1 |
| 2000s | 207,936 | 187,964 | 227,276 | 10 |
| 2010s | 166,732 | 157,385 | 187,454 | 10 |
| 2020s | 151,081 | 143,815 | 157,322 | 5 |
Countries ranked near UNICEF: Western Balkans
- 213 Tuvalu 216 compare
- 214 Palau 193 compare
- 215 Cook Islands 190 compare
- 216 Anguilla 132 compare
- 217 Montserrat 53 compare
- 218 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 47 compare
- 219 Tokelau 45 compare
More education data for UNICEF: Western Balkans
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate -2.25 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate -1.64 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 571,333 (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate -1.4 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 544,823 (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth -1.52 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), annual growth rate -0.7018 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 1.12 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 316,196 (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 45,751 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, one year before the official primary entry in UNICEF: Western Balkans?
- School age population, one year before the official primary entry in UNICEF: Western Balkans was 143,815 in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, one year before the official primary entry recorded in UNICEF: Western Balkans?
- The highest recorded value was 268,423 in 1970.
- What is the lowest school age population, one year before the official primary entry recorded in UNICEF: Western Balkans?
- The lowest recorded value was 143,815 in 2024.
- How does UNICEF: Western Balkans rank for school age population, one year before the official primary entry?
- UNICEF: Western Balkans ranks 216th out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
- Is school age population, one year before the official primary entry rising or falling in UNICEF: Western Balkans?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this UNICEF: Western Balkans 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 — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release