School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes (number) in Nepal
Nepal: School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes (number) was 1.10 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Nepal, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Nepal is 1.10 million, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 0.6% on the previous year and down 5.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Nepal peaked at 2.18 million in 2000 and was at its lowest, 1.05 million, in 1970.
Nepal ranks 62nd of 222 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 47 years of available data.
School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes (number) in Nepal, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 1.05 million | — |
| 1971 | 1.08 million | +2.5% |
| 1981 | 1.37 million | +27.5% |
| 1982 | 1.41 million | +2.7% |
| 1983 | 1.45 million | +2.6% |
| 1984 | 1.48 million | +2.5% |
| 1985 | 1.52 million | +2.4% |
| 1986 | 1.56 million | +2.5% |
| 1987 | 1.60 million | +2.8% |
| 1988 | 1.64 million | +2.7% |
| 1989 | 1.69 million | +2.6% |
| 1990 | 1.73 million | +2.3% |
| 1991 | 1.77 million | +2.3% |
| 1992 | 1.81 million | +2.4% |
| 1993 | 1.86 million | +2.6% |
| 1994 | 1.90 million | +2.5% |
| 1995 | 1.95 million | +2.5% |
| 1996 | 2.00 million | +2.6% |
| 1997 | 2.06 million | +2.9% |
| 1998 | 2.12 million | +2.7% |
| 1999 | 2.17 million | +2.5% |
| 2000 | 2.18 million | +0.7% |
| 2001 | 2.17 million | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 2.14 million | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 1.41 million | -34.1% |
| 2004 | 1.40 million | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 1.39 million | -1.2% |
| 2006 | 1.36 million | -1.9% |
| 2007 | 1.34 million | -1.7% |
| 2008 | 1.31 million | -1.6% |
| 2009 | 1.29 million | -2.1% |
| 2010 | 1.26 million | -2.4% |
| 2011 | 1.23 million | -1.9% |
| 2012 | 1.21 million | -1.6% |
| 2013 | 1.19 million | -1.6% |
| 2014 | 1.18 million | -1.3% |
| 2015 | 1.17 million | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 1.17 million | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 1.17 million | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1.17 million | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 1.17 million | -0.0% |
| 2020 | 1.16 million | -0.8% |
| 2021 | 1.14 million | -1.7% |
| 2022 | 1.12 million | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 1.11 million | -1.3% |
| 2024 | 1.11 million | -0.2% |
| 2025 | 1.10 million | -0.6% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 1.10 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 870,070, 1.3× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nepal's 1.10 million is above the median for South Asia, which is 875,516, 1.3× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes (number) in Nepal 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | -34.1% | 2.14 million | 1.41 million |
| 1981 | +27.5% | 1.08 million | 1.37 million |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.06 million | 1.05 million | 1.08 million | 2 |
| 1980s | 1.53 million | 1.37 million | 1.69 million | 9 |
| 1990s | 1.94 million | 1.73 million | 2.17 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.60 million | 1.29 million | 2.18 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.19 million | 1.17 million | 1.26 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.12 million | 1.10 million | 1.16 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More education data for Nepal
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 124,257 (2025)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 263,796 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 752,326 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 609,324 (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.67 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.57 million (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.31 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1204 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Nepal?
- School age population, pre-primary education, both sexes in Nepal was 1.10 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes recorded in Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 2.18 million in 2000.
- What is the lowest school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.05 million in 1970.
- How does Nepal rank for school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes?
- Nepal ranks 62nd out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, pre-primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nepal 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 — 47 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release