School age population, primary education, male (number) (age male) in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: School age population, primary education, male (number) (age male) was 3.57 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
3.57 million
Change on year
up 2.2%
World rank
22nd
of 222 countries
All-time high
3.57 million
in 2025
All-time low
865,215
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School age population, primary education, male in Afghanistan, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school age population, primary education, male in Afghanistan is 3.57 million, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.2% on the previous year and up 20.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, primary education, male in Afghanistan peaked at 3.57 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 865,215, in 1970.
That places Afghanistan 22nd 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, male (number) (age male) in Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 865,215 | — |
| 1971 | 892,017 | +3.1% |
| 1972 | 918,554 | +3.0% |
| 1973 | 946,814 | +3.1% |
| 1974 | 976,548 | +3.1% |
| 1975 | 1.01 million | +3.1% |
| 1976 | 1.04 million | +2.9% |
| 1977 | 1.06 million | +2.6% |
| 1978 | 1.09 million | +2.7% |
| 1979 | 1.12 million | +2.5% |
| 1980 | 1.11 million | -0.6% |
| 1981 | 1.05 million | -5.4% |
| 1982 | 922,588 | -12.4% |
| 1983 | 909,677 | -1.4% |
| 1984 | 923,461 | +1.5% |
| 1985 | 970,366 | +5.1% |
| 1986 | 978,792 | +0.9% |
| 1987 | 976,977 | -0.2% |
| 1988 | 974,725 | -0.2% |
| 1989 | 996,550 | +2.2% |
| 1990 | 1.02 million | +2.8% |
| 1991 | 1.01 million | -1.1% |
| 1992 | 1.05 million | +3.2% |
| 1993 | 1.18 million | +13.0% |
| 1994 | 1.32 million | +12.0% |
| 1995 | 1.40 million | +6.2% |
| 1996 | 1.47 million | +4.9% |
| 1997 | 1.54 million | +4.8% |
| 1998 | 1.62 million | +4.9% |
| 1999 | 1.70 million | +5.0% |
| 2000 | 1.78 million | +4.9% |
| 2001 | 1.78 million | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 1.86 million | +4.0% |
| 2003 | 2.03 million | +9.2% |
| 2004 | 2.15 million | +5.9% |
| 2005 | 2.22 million | +3.4% |
| 2006 | 2.34 million | +5.2% |
| 2007 | 2.43 million | +4.1% |
| 2008 | 2.44 million | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 2.54 million | +4.2% |
| 2010 | 2.62 million | +2.9% |
| 2011 | 2.67 million | +2.2% |
| 2012 | 2.78 million | +3.9% |
| 2013 | 2.85 million | +2.5% |
| 2014 | 2.90 million | +2.1% |
| 2015 | 2.98 million | +2.5% |
| 2016 | 3.01 million | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 3.06 million | +1.6% |
| 2018 | 3.12 million | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 3.19 million | +2.2% |
| 2020 | 3.26 million | +2.5% |
| 2021 | 3.36 million | +2.9% |
| 2022 | 3.40 million | +1.1% |
| 2023 | 3.42 million | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 3.50 million | +2.2% |
| 2025 | 3.57 million | +2.2% |
Afghanistan compared with similar countries
- Afghanistan's 3.57 million is above the median for low income countries, which is 1.72 million, 2.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Afghanistan's 3.57 million is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 621,557, 5.8× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 991,507 | 865,215 | 1.12 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 981,814 | 909,677 | 1.11 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.33 million | 1.01 million | 1.70 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.16 million | 1.78 million | 2.54 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.92 million | 2.62 million | 3.19 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.42 million | 3.26 million | 3.57 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
More education data for Afghanistan
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 88,020 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 343,942 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 13,837 (2003)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 10,383 (2003)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.43 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 7.51 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 3.56 % change on previous year (2019)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0004 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1811 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, primary education, male in Afghanistan?
- School age population, primary education, male in Afghanistan was 3.57 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, primary education, male recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 3.57 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest school age population, primary education, male recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 865,215 in 1970.
- How does Afghanistan rank for school age population, primary education, male?
- Afghanistan ranks 22nd out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, primary education, male rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School age population, primary education, male (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