School age population, primary education, both sexes (number) in Thailand
Thailand: School age population, primary education, both sexes (number) was 4.41 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
4.41 million
Change on year
down 1.0%
World rank
36th
of 222 countries
All-time high
8.21 million
in 1978
All-time low
4.41 million
in 2025
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Thailand, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
In 2025, school age population, primary education, both sexes in Thailand stood at 4.41 million. That is the lowest value across all 56 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.0% on the previous year and down 10.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, primary education, both sexes in Thailand peaked at 8.21 million in 1978 and was at its lowest, 4.41 million, in 2025.
Thailand ranks 36th of 222 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 56 years of available data.
School age population, primary education, both sexes (number) in Thailand, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 6.74 million | — |
| 1971 | 6.96 million | +3.2% |
| 1972 | 7.18 million | +3.1% |
| 1973 | 7.39 million | +3.0% |
| 1974 | 7.60 million | +2.8% |
| 1975 | 7.79 million | +2.6% |
| 1976 | 7.97 million | +2.3% |
| 1977 | 8.11 million | +1.8% |
| 1978 | 8.21 million | +1.2% |
| 1979 | 7.14 million | -13.0% |
| 1980 | 7.16 million | +0.4% |
| 1981 | 7.17 million | +0.1% |
| 1982 | 7.16 million | -0.2% |
| 1983 | 7.13 million | -0.3% |
| 1984 | 7.11 million | -0.4% |
| 1985 | 7.06 million | -0.7% |
| 1986 | 6.99 million | -1.0% |
| 1987 | 6.93 million | -1.0% |
| 1988 | 6.83 million | -1.4% |
| 1989 | 6.77 million | -0.8% |
| 1990 | 6.71 million | -1.0% |
| 1991 | 6.63 million | -1.1% |
| 1992 | 6.57 million | -0.9% |
| 1993 | 6.52 million | -0.7% |
| 1994 | 6.47 million | -0.8% |
| 1995 | 6.42 million | -0.8% |
| 1996 | 6.39 million | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 6.36 million | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 6.33 million | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 6.31 million | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 6.32 million | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 6.32 million | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 6.30 million | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 6.26 million | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 6.18 million | -1.3% |
| 2005 | 6.07 million | -1.8% |
| 2006 | 5.94 million | -2.2% |
| 2007 | 5.83 million | -1.8% |
| 2008 | 5.76 million | -1.1% |
| 2009 | 5.74 million | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 5.77 million | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 5.27 million | -8.5% |
| 2012 | 5.19 million | -1.6% |
| 2013 | 5.10 million | -1.7% |
| 2014 | 5.01 million | -1.8% |
| 2015 | 4.92 million | -1.8% |
| 2016 | 4.83 million | -1.9% |
| 2017 | 4.73 million | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 4.67 million | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 4.61 million | -1.2% |
| 2020 | 4.57 million | -1.0% |
| 2021 | 4.53 million | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 4.51 million | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 4.50 million | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 4.46 million | -0.9% |
| 2025 | 4.41 million | -1.0% |
Thailand compared with similar countries
- Thailand's 4.41 million is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 510,283, 8.6× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Thailand's 4.41 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 233,762, 18.9× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 7.51 million | 6.74 million | 8.21 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 7.03 million | 6.77 million | 7.17 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.47 million | 6.31 million | 6.71 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 6.07 million | 5.74 million | 6.32 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.01 million | 4.61 million | 5.77 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.50 million | 4.41 million | 4.57 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Thailand
More education data for Thailand
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 243,991 (2025)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 13,596 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 758,147 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 716,498 (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.26 million (2025)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.45 million (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.23 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0621 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, primary education, both sexes in Thailand?
- School age population, primary education, both sexes in Thailand was 4.41 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Thailand?
- The highest recorded value was 8.21 million in 1978.
- What is the lowest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Thailand?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.41 million in 2025.
- How does Thailand rank for school age population, primary education, both sexes?
- Thailand ranks 36th out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Thailand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Thailand 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
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release