School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes was 11.02 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
11.02 million
Change on year
up 3.0%
World rank
6th
of 222 countries
All-time high
11.02 million
in 2025
All-time low
2.56 million
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Ethiopia, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Ethiopia is 11.02 million, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
The figure is up 3.0% on the previous year and up 20.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Ethiopia peaked at 11.02 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 2.56 million, in 1970.
That places Ethiopia 6th out of 222 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 2.56 million | — |
| 1971 | 2.64 million | +3.4% |
| 1972 | 2.74 million | +3.6% |
| 1973 | 2.83 million | +3.3% |
| 1974 | 2.92 million | +3.1% |
| 1975 | 2.99 million | +2.6% |
| 1976 | 3.07 million | +2.4% |
| 1977 | 3.14 million | +2.5% |
| 1978 | 3.17 million | +0.8% |
| 1979 | 3.23 million | +2.0% |
| 1980 | 3.27 million | +1.3% |
| 1981 | 3.32 million | +1.3% |
| 1982 | 3.51 million | +5.7% |
| 1983 | 3.63 million | +3.6% |
| 1984 | 3.73 million | +2.7% |
| 1985 | 3.82 million | +2.5% |
| 1986 | 3.91 million | +2.2% |
| 1987 | 3.97 million | +1.5% |
| 1988 | 4.03 million | +1.7% |
| 1989 | 4.16 million | +3.0% |
| 1990 | 4.35 million | +4.6% |
| 1991 | 4.61 million | +6.1% |
| 1992 | 4.94 million | +7.1% |
| 1993 | 5.20 million | +5.4% |
| 1994 | 5.44 million | +4.6% |
| 1995 | 5.67 million | +4.1% |
| 1996 | 5.90 million | +4.1% |
| 1997 | 6.15 million | +4.2% |
| 1998 | 6.39 million | +4.0% |
| 1999 | 6.64 million | +3.8% |
| 2000 | 6.85 million | +3.2% |
| 2001 | 7.06 million | +3.0% |
| 2002 | 7.26 million | +2.8% |
| 2003 | 7.44 million | +2.5% |
| 2004 | 7.62 million | +2.4% |
| 2005 | 7.80 million | +2.3% |
| 2006 | 7.98 million | +2.4% |
| 2007 | 8.16 million | +2.3% |
| 2008 | 8.34 million | +2.1% |
| 2009 | 8.51 million | +2.0% |
| 2010 | 8.68 million | +2.1% |
| 2011 | 8.85 million | +1.9% |
| 2012 | 8.98 million | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 9.06 million | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 9.10 million | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 9.13 million | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 9.18 million | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 9.23 million | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 9.26 million | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 9.35 million | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 9.52 million | +1.8% |
| 2021 | 9.78 million | +2.7% |
| 2022 | 10.05 million | +2.8% |
| 2023 | 10.36 million | +3.1% |
| 2024 | 10.69 million | +3.2% |
| 2025 | 11.02 million | +3.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.93 million | 2.56 million | 3.23 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.73 million | 3.27 million | 4.16 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.53 million | 4.35 million | 6.64 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.70 million | 6.85 million | 8.51 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.08 million | 8.68 million | 9.35 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.24 million | 9.52 million | 11.02 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
- 3 Pakistan 12.58 million compare
- 4 Democratic Republic of Congo 11.24 million compare
- 5 United States 11.22 million compare
- 7 Bangladesh 9.79 million compare
- 8 Indonesia 9.01 million compare
- 9 Nigeria 6.42 million compare
More education data for Ethiopia
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,021 tertiary education (2022)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0498 % change on previous year (2012)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 338,716 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 4 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 57.9% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 38.8% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Ethiopia?
- School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Ethiopia was 11.02 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes recorded in Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 11.02 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.56 million in 1970.
- How does Ethiopia rank for school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes?
- Ethiopia ranks 6th out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ethiopia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School age population, pre-primary education, 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