School age population, primary education, both sexes (number) in Rwanda
Rwanda: School age population, primary education, both sexes (number) was 2.04 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Rwanda, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school age population, primary education, both sexes in Rwanda is 2.04 million, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.4% on the previous year and up 14.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, primary education, both sexes in Rwanda peaked at 2.04 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 708,466, in 1970.
Rwanda ranks 68th of 222 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
School age population, primary education, both sexes (number) in Rwanda, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 708,466 | — |
| 1971 | 719,250 | +1.5% |
| 1972 | 727,649 | +1.2% |
| 1973 | 734,510 | +0.9% |
| 1974 | 741,335 | +0.9% |
| 1975 | 749,595 | +1.1% |
| 1976 | 760,710 | +1.5% |
| 1977 | 775,722 | +2.0% |
| 1978 | 794,436 | +2.4% |
| 1979 | 816,174 | +2.7% |
| 1980 | 840,872 | +3.0% |
| 1981 | 868,633 | +3.3% |
| 1982 | 899,353 | +3.5% |
| 1983 | 932,815 | +3.7% |
| 1984 | 970,840 | +4.1% |
| 1985 | 1.01 million | +4.4% |
| 1986 | 1.06 million | +4.7% |
| 1987 | 1.11 million | +5.0% |
| 1988 | 1.17 million | +5.1% |
| 1989 | 1.23 million | +5.1% |
| 1990 | 1.29 million | +4.9% |
| 1991 | 1.35 million | +4.5% |
| 1992 | 1.40 million | +3.3% |
| 1993 | 1.44 million | +3.3% |
| 1994 | 1.53 million | +5.8% |
| 1995 | 1.13 million | -25.9% |
| 1996 | 1.24 million | +9.5% |
| 1997 | 1.53 million | +23.8% |
| 1998 | 1.62 million | +5.8% |
| 1999 | 1.57 million | -3.4% |
| 2000 | 1.21 million | -22.7% |
| 2001 | 1.21 million | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 1.24 million | +2.6% |
| 2003 | 1.33 million | +7.0% |
| 2004 | 1.33 million | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 1.35 million | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 1.36 million | +1.4% |
| 2007 | 1.39 million | +1.8% |
| 2008 | 1.42 million | +1.9% |
| 2009 | 1.45 million | +2.1% |
| 2010 | 1.48 million | +2.4% |
| 2011 | 1.52 million | +2.6% |
| 2012 | 1.56 million | +2.8% |
| 2013 | 1.94 million | +24.4% |
| 2014 | 1.73 million | -10.7% |
| 2015 | 1.79 million | +2.9% |
| 2016 | 1.81 million | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 1.82 million | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 1.83 million | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 1.82 million | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 1.81 million | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 1.81 million | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 1.84 million | +2.1% |
| 2023 | 1.87 million | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 2.01 million | +7.6% |
| 2025 | 2.04 million | +1.4% |
Rwanda compared with similar countries
- Rwanda's 2.04 million is below the median for low income countries, which is 3.44 million, 59% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Rwanda's 2.04 million is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.37 million, 86% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School age population, primary education, both sexes (number) in Rwanda 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | -25.9% | 1.53 million | 1.13 million |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 752,785 | 708,466 | 816,174 | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.01 million | 840,872 | 1.23 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.41 million | 1.13 million | 1.62 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.33 million | 1.21 million | 1.45 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.73 million | 1.48 million | 1.94 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.90 million | 1.81 million | 2.04 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Rwanda
More education data for Rwanda
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 34,324 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 795,920 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 305,636 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 299,593 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 901,617 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.01 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 5.93 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.2109 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, primary education, both sexes in Rwanda?
- School age population, primary education, both sexes in Rwanda was 2.04 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Rwanda?
- The highest recorded value was 2.04 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Rwanda?
- The lowest recorded value was 708,466 in 1970.
- How does Rwanda rank for school age population, primary education, both sexes?
- Rwanda ranks 68th out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Rwanda?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Rwanda data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School age population, 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