School age population, one year before the official primary entry in China
China: School age population, one year before the official primary entry was 7.70 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
7.70 million
Change on year
down 4.8%
World rank
2nd
of 222 countries
All-time high
14.69 million
in 1970
All-time low
7.70 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
China recorded 7.70 million for school age population, one year before the official primary entry in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 56 years on record.
That represents a change of down 4.8% on the previous year and down 19.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, one year before the official primary entry in China peaked at 14.69 million in 1970 and was at its lowest, 7.70 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 | 14.69 million | — |
| 1971 | 13.28 million | -9.6% |
| 1972 | 13.36 million | +0.6% |
| 1973 | 13.06 million | -2.3% |
| 1974 | 12.35 million | -5.4% |
| 1975 | 14.31 million | +15.8% |
| 1976 | 14.06 million | -1.7% |
| 1977 | 14.41 million | +2.4% |
| 1978 | 13.68 million | -5.0% |
| 1979 | 13.27 million | -3.0% |
| 1980 | 12.90 million | -2.8% |
| 1981 | 12.02 million | -6.8% |
| 1982 | 10.91 million | -9.2% |
| 1983 | 10.45 million | -4.2% |
| 1984 | 9.70 million | -7.2% |
| 1985 | 9.70 million | +0.1% |
| 1986 | 10.18 million | +4.9% |
| 1987 | 10.46 million | +2.8% |
| 1988 | 10.89 million | +4.1% |
| 1989 | 11.82 million | +8.6% |
| 1990 | 10.56 million | -10.7% |
| 1991 | 11.18 million | +6.0% |
| 1992 | 11.82 million | +5.6% |
| 1993 | 12.79 million | +8.2% |
| 1994 | 13.57 million | +6.1% |
| 1995 | 13.07 million | -3.7% |
| 1996 | 13.51 million | +3.4% |
| 1997 | 13.98 million | +3.5% |
| 1998 | 11.32 million | -19.1% |
| 1999 | 10.58 million | -6.6% |
| 2000 | 10.19 million | -3.7% |
| 2001 | 9.89 million | -2.9% |
| 2002 | 9.67 million | -2.2% |
| 2003 | 9.36 million | -3.3% |
| 2004 | 8.87 million | -5.3% |
| 2005 | 8.73 million | -1.6% |
| 2006 | 9.12 million | +4.4% |
| 2007 | 8.64 million | -5.2% |
| 2008 | 8.56 million | -1.0% |
| 2009 | 8.50 million | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 8.65 million | +1.8% |
| 2011 | 8.74 million | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 8.89 million | +1.8% |
| 2013 | 9.09 million | +2.2% |
| 2014 | 9.37 million | +3.2% |
| 2015 | 9.56 million | +1.9% |
| 2016 | 9.49 million | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 9.45 million | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 10.20 million | +8.0% |
| 2019 | 9.69 million | -5.0% |
| 2020 | 9.93 million | +2.4% |
| 2021 | 9.26 million | -6.8% |
| 2022 | 9.68 million | +4.5% |
| 2023 | 9.60 million | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 8.09 million | -15.7% |
| 2025 | 7.70 million | -4.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 13.65 million | 12.35 million | 14.69 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 10.90 million | 9.70 million | 12.90 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.24 million | 10.56 million | 13.98 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.15 million | 8.50 million | 10.19 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.31 million | 8.65 million | 10.20 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.04 million | 7.70 million | 9.93 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
More education data for China
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 52.30 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.68 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 40.93 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual -11.55 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 60.67 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 2.11 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 5.02 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.72 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 30.19 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 1.79 % 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 7.70 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 14.69 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 7.70 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 19.4%. 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, male (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