School age population, primary education, both sexes in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: School age population, primary education, both sexes was 3.42 million number in 2020. ▲ Rising
Latest (2020)
3.42 million number
Change on year
up 1.7%
World rank
44th
of 206 countries
All-time high
3.42 million number
in 2020
All-time low
903,352 number
in 1970
Years of data
51
1970–2020
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Saudi Arabia, 1970–2020
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.
Analysis
In 2020, school age population, primary education, both sexes in Saudi Arabia stood at 3.42 million number. That is the highest value across all 51 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.7% on the previous year and up 9.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, primary education, both sexes in Saudi Arabia peaked at 3.42 million number in 2020 and was at its lowest, 903,352 number, in 1970.
That places Saudi Arabia 44th out of 206 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 51 years of available data.
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | number | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 903,352 number | — |
| 1971 | 942,511 number | +4.3% |
| 1972 | 986,603 number | +4.7% |
| 1973 | 1.03 million number | +4.8% |
| 1974 | 1.08 million number | +4.8% |
| 1975 | 1.13 million number | +4.7% |
| 1976 | 1.19 million number | +4.7% |
| 1977 | 1.24 million number | +4.7% |
| 1978 | 1.31 million number | +5.1% |
| 1979 | 1.38 million number | +5.4% |
| 1980 | 1.46 million number | +5.7% |
| 1981 | 1.54 million number | +5.9% |
| 1982 | 1.63 million number | +5.6% |
| 1983 | 1.72 million number | +5.6% |
| 1984 | 1.81 million number | +5.5% |
| 1985 | 1.91 million number | +5.1% |
| 1986 | 2.00 million number | +4.7% |
| 1987 | 2.10 million number | +5.0% |
| 1988 | 2.21 million number | +5.5% |
| 1989 | 2.34 million number | +5.7% |
| 1990 | 2.47 million number | +5.7% |
| 1991 | 2.61 million number | +5.4% |
| 1992 | 2.76 million number | +6.0% |
| 1993 | 2.90 million number | +4.9% |
| 1994 | 3.01 million number | +3.7% |
| 1995 | 3.08 million number | +2.4% |
| 1996 | 3.12 million number | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 3.10 million number | -0.7% |
| 1998 | 3.10 million number | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 3.13 million number | +0.9% |
| 2000 | 3.17 million number | +1.4% |
| 2001 | 3.23 million number | +1.6% |
| 2002 | 3.24 million number | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 3.25 million number | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 3.25 million number | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 3.24 million number | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 3.21 million number | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 3.16 million number | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 3.13 million number | -1.1% |
| 2009 | 3.11 million number | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 3.11 million number | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 3.14 million number | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 3.12 million number | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 3.12 million number | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 3.14 million number | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 3.17 million number | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 3.19 million number | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 3.25 million number | +1.7% |
| 2018 | 3.31 million number | +1.8% |
| 2019 | 3.37 million number | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 3.42 million number | +1.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.12 million number | 903,352 number | 1.38 million number | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.87 million number | 1.46 million number | 2.34 million number | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.93 million number | 2.47 million number | 3.13 million number | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.20 million number | 3.11 million number | 3.25 million number | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.19 million number | 3.11 million number | 3.37 million number | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.42 million number | 3.42 million number | 3.42 million number | 1 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More education data for Saudi Arabia
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of lower secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- 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 2,023 tertiary education (2024)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2022)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 244,652 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, primary education, both sexes in Saudi Arabia?
- School age population, primary education, both sexes in Saudi Arabia was 3.42 million number in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.42 million number in 2020.
- What is the lowest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 903,352 number in 1970.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for school age population, primary education, both sexes?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 44th out of 206 countries with data for 2020.
- Is school age population, primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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 — 51 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Population of the age-group theoretically corresponding to primary education as indicated by theoretical entrance age and duration.