School age population, one year before the official primary entry in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: School age population, one year before the official primary entry was 613,850 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
613,850
Change on year
up 1.9%
World rank
21st
of 222 countries
All-time high
613,850
in 2025
All-time low
159,089
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School age population, one year before the official primary entry in Afghanistan, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Afghanistan recorded 613,850 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 21.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, one year before the official primary entry in Afghanistan peaked at 613,850 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 159,089, in 1970.
Afghanistan ranks 21st of 222 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
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 Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 159,089 | — |
| 1971 | 164,029 | +3.1% |
| 1972 | 168,864 | +2.9% |
| 1973 | 174,270 | +3.2% |
| 1974 | 179,887 | +3.2% |
| 1975 | 185,534 | +3.1% |
| 1976 | 191,032 | +3.0% |
| 1977 | 195,643 | +2.4% |
| 1978 | 201,026 | +2.8% |
| 1979 | 205,582 | +2.3% |
| 1980 | 204,384 | -0.6% |
| 1981 | 193,487 | -5.3% |
| 1982 | 168,893 | -12.7% |
| 1983 | 165,962 | -1.7% |
| 1984 | 168,050 | +1.3% |
| 1985 | 175,166 | +4.2% |
| 1986 | 176,073 | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 176,086 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 173,726 | -1.3% |
| 1989 | 177,152 | +2.0% |
| 1990 | 182,833 | +3.2% |
| 1991 | 182,747 | -0.0% |
| 1992 | 192,819 | +5.5% |
| 1993 | 221,355 | +14.8% |
| 1994 | 249,314 | +12.6% |
| 1995 | 266,440 | +6.9% |
| 1996 | 279,766 | +5.0% |
| 1997 | 293,137 | +4.8% |
| 1998 | 308,412 | +5.2% |
| 1999 | 325,139 | +5.4% |
| 2000 | 341,466 | +5.0% |
| 2001 | 340,095 | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 350,608 | +3.1% |
| 2003 | 378,492 | +8.0% |
| 2004 | 396,058 | +4.6% |
| 2005 | 404,010 | +2.0% |
| 2006 | 421,399 | +4.3% |
| 2007 | 434,923 | +3.2% |
| 2008 | 432,306 | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 446,595 | +3.3% |
| 2010 | 453,478 | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 458,932 | +1.2% |
| 2012 | 473,297 | +3.1% |
| 2013 | 482,050 | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 489,756 | +1.6% |
| 2015 | 507,497 | +3.6% |
| 2016 | 515,278 | +1.5% |
| 2017 | 526,740 | +2.2% |
| 2018 | 540,780 | +2.7% |
| 2019 | 553,828 | +2.4% |
| 2020 | 568,155 | +2.6% |
| 2021 | 583,409 | +2.7% |
| 2022 | 587,320 | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 590,746 | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 602,587 | +2.0% |
| 2025 | 613,850 | +1.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 182,496 | 159,089 | 205,582 | 10 |
| 1980s | 177,898 | 165,962 | 204,384 | 10 |
| 1990s | 250,196 | 182,747 | 325,139 | 10 |
| 2000s | 394,595 | 340,095 | 446,595 | 10 |
| 2010s | 500,164 | 453,478 | 553,828 | 10 |
| 2020s | 591,011 | 568,155 | 613,850 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
More education data for Afghanistan
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 7.51 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 3.56 % change on previous year (2019)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0004 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1811 units per person (2023)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.51 million (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 3.56 % change on previous year (2019)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), per unit of GDP 0.0004 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), per capita 0.1811 units per person (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 3.20 million (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, one year before the official primary entry in Afghanistan?
- School age population, one year before the official primary entry in Afghanistan was 613,850 in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, one year before the official primary entry recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 613,850 in 2025.
- What is the lowest school age population, one year before the official primary entry recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 159,089 in 1970.
- How does Afghanistan rank for school age population, one year before the official primary entry?
- Afghanistan ranks 21st out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, one year before the official primary entry rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 21.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Afghanistan 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, female (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