School age population, primary education, both sexes in Zambia
Zambia: School age population, primary education, both sexes was 3.94 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
3.94 million
Change on year
up 1.4%
World rank
43rd
of 222 countries
All-time high
3.94 million
in 2025
All-time low
810,603
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Zambia, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
In 2025, school age population, primary education, both sexes in Zambia stood at 3.94 million. 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 26.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, primary education, both sexes in Zambia peaked at 3.94 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 810,603, in 1970.
That places Zambia 43rd out of 222 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Zambia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 810,603 | — |
| 1971 | 839,046 | +3.5% |
| 1972 | 868,375 | +3.5% |
| 1973 | 898,802 | +3.5% |
| 1974 | 930,138 | +3.5% |
| 1975 | 962,615 | +3.5% |
| 1976 | 996,883 | +3.6% |
| 1977 | 1.03 million | +3.6% |
| 1978 | 1.07 million | +3.7% |
| 1979 | 1.11 million | +3.7% |
| 1980 | 1.15 million | +3.7% |
| 1981 | 1.20 million | +3.7% |
| 1982 | 1.24 million | +3.7% |
| 1983 | 1.28 million | +3.7% |
| 1984 | 1.33 million | +3.5% |
| 1985 | 1.37 million | +3.2% |
| 1986 | 1.41 million | +2.9% |
| 1987 | 1.45 million | +2.7% |
| 1988 | 1.48 million | +2.4% |
| 1989 | 1.52 million | +2.3% |
| 1990 | 1.55 million | +2.1% |
| 1991 | 1.58 million | +2.2% |
| 1992 | 1.62 million | +2.2% |
| 1993 | 1.66 million | +2.4% |
| 1994 | 1.70 million | +2.5% |
| 1995 | 1.75 million | +2.6% |
| 1996 | 1.79 million | +2.6% |
| 1997 | 1.84 million | +2.6% |
| 1998 | 1.88 million | +2.5% |
| 1999 | 1.93 million | +2.5% |
| 2000 | 1.98 million | +2.4% |
| 2001 | 2.03 million | +2.5% |
| 2002 | 2.08 million | +2.7% |
| 2003 | 2.14 million | +2.8% |
| 2004 | 2.20 million | +2.9% |
| 2005 | 2.27 million | +2.9% |
| 2006 | 2.33 million | +3.1% |
| 2007 | 2.41 million | +3.2% |
| 2008 | 2.48 million | +3.2% |
| 2009 | 2.56 million | +3.0% |
| 2010 | 2.64 million | +3.0% |
| 2011 | 2.72 million | +3.1% |
| 2012 | 2.81 million | +3.3% |
| 2013 | 2.90 million | +3.4% |
| 2014 | 3.01 million | +3.5% |
| 2015 | 3.11 million | +3.5% |
| 2016 | 3.22 million | +3.5% |
| 2017 | 3.32 million | +3.4% |
| 2018 | 3.43 million | +3.2% |
| 2019 | 3.53 million | +2.8% |
| 2020 | 3.62 million | +2.5% |
| 2021 | 3.69 million | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 3.76 million | +1.9% |
| 2023 | 3.83 million | +1.7% |
| 2024 | 3.88 million | +1.5% |
| 2025 | 3.94 million | +1.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 952,073 | 810,603 | 1.11 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.34 million | 1.15 million | 1.52 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.73 million | 1.55 million | 1.93 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.25 million | 1.98 million | 2.56 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.07 million | 2.64 million | 3.53 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.79 million | 3.62 million | 3.94 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More education data for Zambia
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,022 tertiary education (2022)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0497 % change on previous year (2014)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 116,859 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 4 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 57.0% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 41.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, primary education, both sexes in Zambia?
- School age population, primary education, both sexes in Zambia was 3.94 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.94 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 810,603 in 1970.
- How does Zambia rank for school age population, primary education, both sexes?
- Zambia ranks 43rd out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 26.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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