School-age population in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: School-age population was 4.78 million in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
4.78 million
Change on year
up 0.5%
World rank
9th
of 72 countries
All-time high
4.83 million
in 2018
All-time low
4.18 million
in 2010
Years of data
25
2000–2024
School-age population in United Kingdom, 2000–2024
Source: UNICEF.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school-age population in United Kingdom is 4.78 million, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 6.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school-age population in United Kingdom peaked at 4.83 million in 2018 and was at its lowest, 4.18 million, in 2010.
United Kingdom ranks 9th of 72 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4.39 million | 4.19 million | 4.60 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.53 million | 4.18 million | 4.83 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.77 million | 4.75 million | 4.79 million | 5 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More education data for United Kingdom
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 281,128 (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 2 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 63.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 17.0% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 11 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 5 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 102.17 (2023)
- School enrollment, primary 102.2% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school-age population in United Kingdom?
- School-age population in United Kingdom was 4.78 million in 2024, according to UNICEF.
- What is the highest school-age population recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 4.83 million in 2018.
- What is the lowest school-age population recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.18 million in 2010.
- How does United Kingdom rank for school-age population?
- United Kingdom ranks 9th out of 72 countries with data for 2024.
- Is school-age population rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
- The figures come from UNICEF, published as part of School-age population (primary level). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required).