School age population, one year before the official primary entry in WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income)
WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income): School age population, one year before the official primary entry was 16.36 million in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
16.36 million
Change on year
down 1.5%
Rank
85th
of 221 groups
All-time high
16.61 million
in 2023
All-time low
6.21 million
in 1970
Years of data
55
1970–2024
School age population, one year before the official primary entry 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 16.36 million for school age population, one year before the official primary entry in 2024.
The figure is down 1.5% on the previous year and up 8.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, one year before the official primary entry in WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income) peaked at 16.61 million in 2023 and was at its lowest, 6.21 million, in 1970.
WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income) ranks 85th of 221 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 55 years of available data.
School age population, one year before the official primary entry in WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income), year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 6.21 million | — |
| 1971 | 6.35 million | +2.2% |
| 1972 | 6.51 million | +2.5% |
| 1973 | 6.68 million | +2.6% |
| 1974 | 6.84 million | +2.5% |
| 1975 | 7.03 million | +2.7% |
| 1976 | 7.23 million | +2.9% |
| 1977 | 7.46 million | +3.1% |
| 1978 | 7.65 million | +2.5% |
| 1979 | 7.85 million | +2.6% |
| 1980 | 8.08 million | +3.0% |
| 1981 | 8.32 million | +3.0% |
| 1982 | 8.56 million | +2.9% |
| 1983 | 8.84 million | +3.2% |
| 1984 | 9.17 million | +3.7% |
| 1985 | 9.56 million | +4.3% |
| 1986 | 9.96 million | +4.1% |
| 1987 | 10.29 million | +3.3% |
| 1988 | 10.67 million | +3.7% |
| 1989 | 10.98 million | +2.9% |
| 1990 | 11.27 million | +2.6% |
| 1991 | 11.49 million | +2.0% |
| 1992 | 11.69 million | +1.8% |
| 1993 | 11.90 million | +1.8% |
| 1994 | 12.12 million | +1.8% |
| 1995 | 12.25 million | +1.1% |
| 1996 | 12.38 million | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 12.45 million | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 12.42 million | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 12.38 million | -0.3% |
| 2000 | 12.29 million | -0.8% |
| 2001 | 12.24 million | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 12.22 million | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 12.35 million | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 12.56 million | +1.7% |
| 2005 | 12.74 million | +1.4% |
| 2006 | 12.91 million | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 13.02 million | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 13.11 million | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 13.23 million | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 13.47 million | +1.8% |
| 2011 | 13.86 million | +2.9% |
| 2012 | 14.29 million | +3.1% |
| 2013 | 14.75 million | +3.2% |
| 2014 | 15.15 million | +2.8% |
| 2015 | 15.50 million | +2.3% |
| 2016 | 15.75 million | +1.6% |
| 2017 | 15.96 million | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 16.23 million | +1.7% |
| 2019 | 16.44 million | +1.3% |
| 2020 | 16.55 million | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 16.59 million | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 16.59 million | -0.0% |
| 2023 | 16.61 million | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 16.36 million | -1.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6.98 million | 6.21 million | 7.85 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 9.44 million | 8.08 million | 10.98 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.04 million | 11.27 million | 12.45 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.67 million | 12.22 million | 13.23 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.14 million | 13.47 million | 16.44 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.54 million | 16.36 million | 16.61 million | 5 |
Countries ranked near WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income)
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, one year before the official primary entry in WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income)?
- School age population, one year before the official primary entry in WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income) was 16.36 million in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, one year before the official primary entry recorded in WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income)?
- The highest recorded value was 16.61 million in 2023.
- What is the lowest school age population, one year before the official primary entry recorded in WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.21 million in 1970.
- How does WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income) rank for school age population, one year before the official primary entry?
- WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income) ranks 85th out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
- Is school age population, one year before the official primary entry rising or falling in WB: Middle East & North Africa (excluding High Income)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.0%. 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, one year before the official primary entry age, 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