School age population, primary education, both sexes (number) in Tanzania
Tanzania: School age population, primary education, both sexes (number) was 12.66 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
12.66 million
Change on year
up 3.0%
World rank
14th
of 222 countries
All-time high
12.66 million
in 2025
All-time low
2.39 million
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Tanzania, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Tanzania recorded 12.66 million for school age population, primary education, both sexes 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 28.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, primary education, both sexes in Tanzania peaked at 12.66 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 2.39 million, in 1970.
That places Tanzania 14th 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, primary education, both sexes (number) in Tanzania, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 2.39 million | — |
| 1971 | 2.48 million | +3.6% |
| 1972 | 2.57 million | +3.6% |
| 1973 | 2.66 million | +3.5% |
| 1974 | 2.76 million | +3.8% |
| 1975 | 2.87 million | +3.9% |
| 1976 | 2.98 million | +3.9% |
| 1977 | 3.10 million | +4.0% |
| 1978 | 3.23 million | +4.2% |
| 1979 | 3.37 million | +4.5% |
| 1980 | 3.53 million | +4.6% |
| 1981 | 3.68 million | +4.4% |
| 1982 | 3.85 million | +4.4% |
| 1983 | 4.01 million | +4.3% |
| 1984 | 4.18 million | +4.3% |
| 1985 | 4.34 million | +3.8% |
| 1986 | 4.51 million | +3.9% |
| 1987 | 4.66 million | +3.4% |
| 1988 | 4.81 million | +3.3% |
| 1989 | 4.94 million | +2.6% |
| 1990 | 5.07 million | +2.5% |
| 1991 | 5.19 million | +2.5% |
| 1992 | 5.31 million | +2.3% |
| 1993 | 5.43 million | +2.2% |
| 1994 | 5.55 million | +2.3% |
| 1995 | 5.68 million | +2.3% |
| 1996 | 5.81 million | +2.2% |
| 1997 | 5.92 million | +2.0% |
| 1998 | 6.05 million | +2.1% |
| 1999 | 6.17 million | +2.1% |
| 2000 | 6.31 million | +2.2% |
| 2001 | 6.45 million | +2.2% |
| 2002 | 6.60 million | +2.4% |
| 2003 | 6.78 million | +2.6% |
| 2004 | 6.97 million | +2.9% |
| 2005 | 7.18 million | +3.0% |
| 2006 | 7.41 million | +3.2% |
| 2007 | 7.65 million | +3.2% |
| 2008 | 7.90 million | +3.3% |
| 2009 | 8.16 million | +3.3% |
| 2010 | 8.41 million | +3.0% |
| 2011 | 8.67 million | +3.2% |
| 2012 | 8.97 million | +3.4% |
| 2013 | 9.27 million | +3.3% |
| 2014 | 9.57 million | +3.3% |
| 2015 | 9.85 million | +3.0% |
| 2016 | 10.13 million | +2.8% |
| 2017 | 10.40 million | +2.6% |
| 2018 | 10.65 million | +2.4% |
| 2019 | 10.86 million | +2.0% |
| 2020 | 11.08 million | +2.1% |
| 2021 | 11.35 million | +2.4% |
| 2022 | 11.65 million | +2.6% |
| 2023 | 11.95 million | +2.6% |
| 2024 | 12.29 million | +2.8% |
| 2025 | 12.66 million | +3.0% |
Tanzania compared with similar countries
- Tanzania's 12.66 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.47 million, 8.6× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Tanzania's 12.66 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.37 million, 5.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.84 million | 2.39 million | 3.37 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.25 million | 3.53 million | 4.94 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.62 million | 5.07 million | 6.17 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.14 million | 6.31 million | 8.16 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.68 million | 8.41 million | 10.86 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.83 million | 11.08 million | 12.66 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Tanzania
More education data for Tanzania
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 106,006 (2020)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 331,605 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 851,911 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 824,648 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.83 million (2021)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 11.39 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.3307 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1661 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, primary education, both sexes in Tanzania?
- School age population, primary education, both sexes in Tanzania was 12.66 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Tanzania?
- The highest recorded value was 12.66 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Tanzania?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.39 million in 1970.
- How does Tanzania rank for school age population, primary education, both sexes?
- Tanzania ranks 14th out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Tanzania?
- Over the last ten years it is up 28.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Tanzania 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