School age population, one year before the official primary entry in Zambia
Zambia: School age population, one year before the official primary entry was 598,370 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
598,370
Change on year
up 1.9%
World rank
48th
of 222 countries
All-time high
598,370
in 2025
All-time low
135,211
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School age population, one year before the official primary entry in Zambia, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Zambia recorded 598,370 for school age population, one year before the official primary entry in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.9% on the previous year and up 17.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, one year before the official primary entry in Zambia peaked at 598,370 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 135,211, in 1970.
That places Zambia 48th out of 222 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
School age population, one year before the official primary entry in Zambia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 135,211 | — |
| 1971 | 139,576 | +3.2% |
| 1972 | 144,420 | +3.5% |
| 1973 | 149,331 | +3.4% |
| 1974 | 154,664 | +3.6% |
| 1975 | 160,626 | +3.9% |
| 1976 | 166,458 | +3.6% |
| 1977 | 173,484 | +4.2% |
| 1978 | 179,646 | +3.6% |
| 1979 | 186,221 | +3.7% |
| 1980 | 192,779 | +3.5% |
| 1981 | 199,030 | +3.2% |
| 1982 | 206,775 | +3.9% |
| 1983 | 211,637 | +2.4% |
| 1984 | 216,917 | +2.5% |
| 1985 | 221,090 | +1.9% |
| 1986 | 225,159 | +1.8% |
| 1987 | 228,488 | +1.5% |
| 1988 | 234,083 | +2.4% |
| 1989 | 240,672 | +2.8% |
| 1990 | 247,634 | +2.9% |
| 1991 | 254,168 | +2.6% |
| 1992 | 261,556 | +2.9% |
| 1993 | 268,139 | +2.5% |
| 1994 | 274,333 | +2.3% |
| 1995 | 280,283 | +2.2% |
| 1996 | 287,589 | +2.6% |
| 1997 | 294,249 | +2.3% |
| 1998 | 301,431 | +2.4% |
| 1999 | 307,712 | +2.1% |
| 2000 | 316,969 | +3.0% |
| 2001 | 327,021 | +3.2% |
| 2002 | 337,313 | +3.1% |
| 2003 | 346,821 | +2.8% |
| 2004 | 356,580 | +2.8% |
| 2005 | 368,239 | +3.3% |
| 2006 | 379,738 | +3.1% |
| 2007 | 390,978 | +3.0% |
| 2008 | 401,213 | +2.6% |
| 2009 | 413,804 | +3.1% |
| 2010 | 427,477 | +3.3% |
| 2011 | 445,315 | +4.2% |
| 2012 | 463,296 | +4.0% |
| 2013 | 480,820 | +3.8% |
| 2014 | 495,042 | +3.0% |
| 2015 | 508,648 | +2.7% |
| 2016 | 521,464 | +2.5% |
| 2017 | 533,147 | +2.2% |
| 2018 | 542,989 | +1.8% |
| 2019 | 551,360 | +1.5% |
| 2020 | 558,137 | +1.2% |
| 2021 | 564,469 | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 571,657 | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 579,203 | +1.3% |
| 2024 | 587,253 | +1.4% |
| 2025 | 598,370 | +1.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 158,964 | 135,211 | 186,221 | 10 |
| 1980s | 217,663 | 192,779 | 240,672 | 10 |
| 1990s | 277,709 | 247,634 | 307,712 | 10 |
| 2000s | 363,868 | 316,969 | 413,804 | 10 |
| 2010s | 496,956 | 427,477 | 551,360 | 10 |
| 2020s | 576,515 | 558,137 | 598,370 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More education data for Zambia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 42,585 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 169,961 (2013)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.39 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.49 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.55 % change on previous year (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.2106 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 4.49 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, one year before the official primary entry in Zambia?
- School age population, one year before the official primary entry in Zambia was 598,370 in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, one year before the official primary entry recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 598,370 in 2025.
- What is the lowest school age population, one year before the official primary entry recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 135,211 in 1970.
- How does Zambia rank for school age population, one year before the official primary entry?
- Zambia ranks 48th out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, one year before the official primary entry rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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