School age population, primary education, female (number) (age female) in China
China: School age population, primary education, female (number) (age female) was 47.71 million number in 2020. ▼ Falling
Latest (2020)
47.71 million number
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
2nd
of 206 countries
All-time high
65.49 million number
in 1979
All-time low
45.64 million number
in 1970
Years of data
51
1970–2020
School age population, primary education, female in China, 1970–2020
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.
Analysis
China recorded 47.71 million number for school age population, primary education, female in 2020.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, primary education, female in China peaked at 65.49 million number in 1979 and was at its lowest, 45.64 million number, in 1970.
That places China 2nd out of 206 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 51 years of available data.
School age population, primary education, female (number) (age female) in China, year by year
| Year | number | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 45.64 million number | — |
| 1971 | 48.07 million number | +5.3% |
| 1972 | 50.39 million number | +4.8% |
| 1973 | 52.85 million number | +4.9% |
| 1974 | 55.44 million number | +4.9% |
| 1975 | 58.10 million number | +4.8% |
| 1976 | 60.64 million number | +4.4% |
| 1977 | 63.00 million number | +3.9% |
| 1978 | 64.68 million number | +2.7% |
| 1979 | 65.49 million number | +1.3% |
| 1980 | 65.28 million number | -0.3% |
| 1981 | 64.13 million number | -1.8% |
| 1982 | 62.93 million number | -1.9% |
| 1983 | 61.23 million number | -2.7% |
| 1984 | 59.00 million number | -3.6% |
| 1985 | 56.31 million number | -4.6% |
| 1986 | 53.36 million number | -5.2% |
| 1987 | 50.68 million number | -5.0% |
| 1988 | 48.60 million number | -4.1% |
| 1989 | 47.33 million number | -2.6% |
| 1990 | 47.06 million number | -0.6% |
| 1991 | 47.75 million number | +1.5% |
| 1992 | 48.47 million number | +1.5% |
| 1993 | 49.98 million number | +3.1% |
| 1994 | 52.37 million number | +4.8% |
| 1995 | 55.56 million number | +6.1% |
| 1996 | 59.08 million number | +6.3% |
| 1997 | 62.38 million number | +5.6% |
| 1998 | 63.87 million number | +2.4% |
| 1999 | 63.18 million number | -1.1% |
| 2000 | 60.18 million number | -4.7% |
| 2001 | 55.39 million number | -8.0% |
| 2002 | 50.80 million number | -8.3% |
| 2003 | 47.09 million number | -7.3% |
| 2004 | 52.50 million number | +11.5% |
| 2005 | 51.14 million number | -2.6% |
| 2006 | 50.68 million number | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 50.04 million number | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 49.28 million number | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 48.46 million number | -1.7% |
| 2010 | 47.64 million number | -1.7% |
| 2011 | 46.88 million number | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 46.36 million number | -1.1% |
| 2013 | 46.07 million number | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 45.99 million number | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 46.09 million number | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 46.32 million number | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 46.61 million number | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 46.96 million number | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 47.34 million number | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 47.71 million number | +0.8% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 47.71 million number is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 234,620 number, 203.4× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- China's 47.71 million number is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 90,195 number, 529.0× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 56.43 million number | 45.64 million number | 65.49 million number | 10 |
| 1980s | 56.89 million number | 47.33 million number | 65.28 million number | 10 |
| 1990s | 54.97 million number | 47.06 million number | 63.87 million number | 10 |
| 2000s | 51.56 million number | 47.09 million number | 60.18 million number | 10 |
| 2010s | 46.63 million number | 45.99 million number | 47.64 million number | 10 |
| 2020s | 47.71 million number | 47.71 million number | 47.71 million number | 1 |
Countries ranked near China
More education data for China
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 93.37 (1997)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 93.32 (1997)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.41 million (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 7,020 (2021)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 21.58 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 19.36 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 97.98 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 108.57 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9587 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, primary education, female in China?
- School age population, primary education, female in China was 47.71 million number in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, primary education, female recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 65.49 million number in 1979.
- What is the lowest school age population, primary education, female recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 45.64 million number in 1970.
- How does China rank for school age population, primary education, female?
- China ranks 2nd out of 206 countries with data for 2020.
- Is school age population, primary education, female rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School age population, primary education, female (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
Female population of the age-group theoretically corresponding to primary education as indicated by theoretical entrance age and duration.