School age population, post-secondary non-tertiary education, both in China
China: School age population, post-secondary non-tertiary education, both was 16.32 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
16.32 million
Change on year
up 1.7%
World rank
2nd
of 174 countries
All-time high
26.22 million
in 2009
All-time low
15.61 million
in 2022
Years of data
29
1997–2025
School age population, post-secondary non-tertiary education, both in China, 1997–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
In 2025, school age population, post-secondary non-tertiary education, both in China stood at 16.32 million.
The figure is up 1.7% on the previous year and down 5.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, post-secondary non-tertiary education, both in China peaked at 26.22 million in 2009 and was at its lowest, 15.61 million, in 2022.
That places China 2nd out of 174 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 29 years of available data.
School age population, post-secondary non-tertiary education, both in China, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 18.55 million | — |
| 1998 | 19.45 million | +4.9% |
| 1999 | 20.01 million | +2.9% |
| 2000 | 20.83 million | +4.1% |
| 2001 | 22.61 million | +8.6% |
| 2002 | 20.16 million | -10.8% |
| 2003 | 21.31 million | +5.7% |
| 2004 | 22.47 million | +5.4% |
| 2005 | 24.25 million | +8.0% |
| 2006 | 25.69 million | +5.9% |
| 2007 | 24.66 million | -4.0% |
| 2008 | 25.41 million | +3.0% |
| 2009 | 26.22 million | +3.2% |
| 2010 | 21.16 million | -19.3% |
| 2011 | 19.72 million | -6.8% |
| 2012 | 18.95 million | -3.9% |
| 2013 | 18.36 million | -3.1% |
| 2014 | 17.92 million | -2.4% |
| 2015 | 17.30 million | -3.4% |
| 2016 | 16.74 million | -3.3% |
| 2017 | 16.32 million | -2.5% |
| 2018 | 16.06 million | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 16.76 million | +4.4% |
| 2020 | 15.87 million | -5.3% |
| 2021 | 15.72 million | -1.0% |
| 2022 | 15.61 million | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 15.88 million | +1.8% |
| 2024 | 16.05 million | +1.1% |
| 2025 | 16.32 million | +1.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 19.34 million | 18.55 million | 20.01 million | 3 |
| 2000s | 23.36 million | 20.16 million | 26.22 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.93 million | 16.06 million | 21.16 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.91 million | 15.61 million | 16.32 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
More education data for China
- 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)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 30.48 million (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) 2.42 % change on previous year (2024)
- Theoretical duration of primary education (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, post-secondary non-tertiary education, both in China?
- School age population, post-secondary non-tertiary education, both in China was 16.32 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, post-secondary non-tertiary education, both recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 26.22 million in 2009.
- What is the lowest school age population, post-secondary non-tertiary education, both recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.61 million in 2022.
- How does China rank for school age population, post-secondary non-tertiary education, both?
- China ranks 2nd out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, post-secondary non-tertiary education, both rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.7%. 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, post-secondary non-tertiary education, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release