School age population, one year before the official primary entry in SDG: World
SDG: World: School age population, one year before the official primary entry was 68.49 million in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
68.49 million
Change on year
down 2.6%
Rank
1st
of 221 groups
All-time high
70.65 million
in 2020
All-time low
54.18 million
in 1971
Years of data
55
1970–2024
School age population, one year before the official primary entry in SDG: World, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
SDG: World recorded 68.49 million for school age population, one year before the official primary entry in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.6% on the previous year and up 0.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, one year before the official primary entry in SDG: World peaked at 70.65 million in 2020 and was at its lowest, 54.18 million, in 1971.
That places SDG: World 1st out of 221 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
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 SDG: World, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 55.30 million | — |
| 1971 | 54.18 million | -2.0% |
| 1972 | 54.57 million | +0.7% |
| 1973 | 54.63 million | +0.1% |
| 1974 | 54.28 million | -0.6% |
| 1975 | 56.60 million | +4.3% |
| 1976 | 56.75 million | +0.3% |
| 1977 | 57.57 million | +1.4% |
| 1978 | 57.24 million | -0.6% |
| 1979 | 57.21 million | -0.1% |
| 1980 | 57.23 million | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 56.73 million | -0.9% |
| 1982 | 56.02 million | -1.3% |
| 1983 | 56.01 million | -0.0% |
| 1984 | 55.79 million | -0.4% |
| 1985 | 56.42 million | +1.1% |
| 1986 | 57.43 million | +1.8% |
| 1987 | 58.25 million | +1.4% |
| 1988 | 59.24 million | +1.7% |
| 1989 | 60.69 million | +2.4% |
| 1990 | 59.87 million | -1.3% |
| 1991 | 60.88 million | +1.7% |
| 1992 | 61.81 million | +1.5% |
| 1993 | 63.10 million | +2.1% |
| 1994 | 64.30 million | +1.9% |
| 1995 | 64.21 million | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 64.98 million | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 65.70 million | +1.1% |
| 1998 | 63.29 million | -3.7% |
| 1999 | 62.75 million | -0.9% |
| 2000 | 62.56 million | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 62.66 million | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 62.62 million | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 62.50 million | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 62.29 million | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 62.59 million | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 63.62 million | +1.7% |
| 2007 | 63.55 million | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 63.64 million | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 64.01 million | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 64.57 million | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 65.22 million | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 66.08 million | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 67.05 million | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 68.18 million | +1.7% |
| 2015 | 68.81 million | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 69.13 million | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 69.39 million | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 70.62 million | +1.8% |
| 2019 | 70.23 million | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 70.65 million | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 70.21 million | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 70.39 million | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 70.32 million | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 68.49 million | -2.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 55.83 million | 54.18 million | 57.57 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 57.38 million | 55.79 million | 60.69 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 63.09 million | 59.87 million | 65.70 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 63.00 million | 62.29 million | 64.01 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 67.93 million | 64.57 million | 70.62 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 70.01 million | 68.49 million | 70.65 million | 5 |
Countries ranked near SDG: World
More education data for SDG: World
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 0.4213 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 0.5777 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 34.10 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 10.50 million (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 1.22 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 314.66 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 0.7454 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 337.02 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 139.06 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 268.57 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, one year before the official primary entry in SDG: World?
- School age population, one year before the official primary entry in SDG: World was 68.49 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 SDG: World?
- The highest recorded value was 70.65 million in 2020.
- What is the lowest school age population, one year before the official primary entry recorded in SDG: World?
- The lowest recorded value was 54.18 million in 1971.
- How does SDG: World rank for school age population, one year before the official primary entry?
- SDG: World ranks 1st out of 221 groups with data for 2024.
- Is school age population, one year before the official primary entry rising or falling in SDG: World?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this SDG: World 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 — 55 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release