School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes (number) in Maldives
Maldives: School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes (number) was 12,538 in 2025. ▲ Rising
School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Maldives, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Maldives is 12,538, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 3.7% on the previous year and down 43.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Maldives peaked at 22,754 in 2017 and was at its lowest, 7,636, in 1970.
Maldives ranks 179th of 222 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes (number) in Maldives, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 7,636 | — |
| 1971 | 7,824 | +2.5% |
| 1972 | 8,136 | +4.0% |
| 1973 | 8,555 | +5.1% |
| 1974 | 8,911 | +4.2% |
| 1975 | 9,182 | +3.0% |
| 1976 | 9,429 | +2.7% |
| 1977 | 9,725 | +3.1% |
| 1978 | 10,116 | +4.0% |
| 1979 | 10,329 | +2.1% |
| 1980 | 10,534 | +2.0% |
| 1981 | 10,711 | +1.7% |
| 1982 | 10,821 | +1.0% |
| 1983 | 11,158 | +3.1% |
| 1984 | 11,676 | +4.6% |
| 1985 | 12,244 | +4.9% |
| 1986 | 12,805 | +4.6% |
| 1987 | 13,333 | +4.1% |
| 1988 | 13,999 | +5.0% |
| 1989 | 15,129 | +8.1% |
| 1990 | 16,088 | +6.3% |
| 1991 | 16,473 | +2.4% |
| 1992 | 16,510 | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 16,448 | -0.4% |
| 1994 | 16,597 | +0.9% |
| 1995 | 16,733 | +0.8% |
| 1996 | 16,518 | -1.3% |
| 1997 | 15,986 | -3.2% |
| 1998 | 22,662 | +41.8% |
| 1999 | 22,152 | -2.3% |
| 2000 | 21,541 | -2.8% |
| 2001 | 20,710 | -3.9% |
| 2002 | 19,647 | -5.1% |
| 2003 | 18,583 | -5.4% |
| 2004 | 17,721 | -4.6% |
| 2005 | 17,210 | -2.9% |
| 2006 | 16,784 | -2.5% |
| 2007 | 16,423 | -2.2% |
| 2008 | 16,453 | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 16,834 | +2.3% |
| 2010 | 17,397 | +3.3% |
| 2011 | 18,213 | +4.7% |
| 2012 | 19,254 | +5.7% |
| 2013 | 20,424 | +6.1% |
| 2014 | 21,494 | +5.2% |
| 2015 | 22,291 | +3.7% |
| 2016 | 22,697 | +1.8% |
| 2017 | 22,754 | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 22,558 | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 22,146 | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 21,641 | -2.3% |
| 2021 | 21,087 | -2.6% |
| 2022 | 13,889 | -34.1% |
| 2023 | 13,466 | -3.0% |
| 2024 | 13,026 | -3.3% |
| 2025 | 12,538 | -3.7% |
Maldives compared with similar countries
- Maldives's 12,538 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 272,347, 5% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Maldives's 12,538 is below the median for South Asia, which is 875,516, 1% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes (number) in Maldives changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | +41.8% | 15,986 | 22,662 |
| 2022 | -34.1% | 21,087 | 13,889 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 8,984 | 7,636 | 10,329 | 10 |
| 1980s | 12,241 | 10,534 | 15,129 | 10 |
| 1990s | 17,617 | 15,986 | 22,662 | 10 |
| 2000s | 18,191 | 16,423 | 21,541 | 10 |
| 2010s | 20,923 | 17,397 | 22,754 | 10 |
| 2020s | 15,941 | 12,538 | 21,641 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Maldives
More education data for Maldives
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 3,474 (2022)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 8,838 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 4,920 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 33,002 (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 44,013 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -3.52 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0834 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Maldives?
- School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Maldives was 12,538 in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes recorded in Maldives?
- The highest recorded value was 22,754 in 2017.
- What is the lowest school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes recorded in Maldives?
- The lowest recorded value was 7,636 in 1970.
- How does Maldives rank for school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes?
- Maldives ranks 179th out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Maldives?
- Over the last ten years it is down 43.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Maldives 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