School age population, tertiary education, both sexes in Japan
Japan: School age population, tertiary education, both sexes was 5.92 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
School age population, tertiary education, both sexes in Japan, 2001–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
In 2025, school age population, tertiary education, both sexes in Japan stood at 5.92 million. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is down 1.1% on the previous year and down 3.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, tertiary education, both sexes in Japan peaked at 8.25 million in 2001 and was at its lowest, 5.92 million, in 2025.
Japan ranks 20th of 221 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
School age population, tertiary education, both sexes in Japan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 8.25 million | — |
| 2002 | 7.95 million | -3.6% |
| 2003 | 7.82 million | -1.6% |
| 2004 | 7.70 million | -1.5% |
| 2005 | 7.55 million | -2.0% |
| 2006 | 7.39 million | -2.1% |
| 2007 | 7.14 million | -3.4% |
| 2008 | 7.03 million | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 6.86 million | -2.4% |
| 2010 | 6.69 million | -2.6% |
| 2011 | 6.51 million | -2.7% |
| 2012 | 6.25 million | -3.9% |
| 2013 | 6.17 million | -1.3% |
| 2014 | 6.15 million | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 6.16 million | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 6.16 million | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 6.09 million | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 6.17 million | +1.3% |
| 2019 | 6.21 million | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 6.24 million | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 6.25 million | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 6.14 million | -1.8% |
| 2023 | 6.02 million | -1.9% |
| 2024 | 5.98 million | -0.6% |
| 2025 | 5.92 million | -1.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7.52 million | 6.86 million | 8.25 million | 9 |
| 2010s | 6.25 million | 6.09 million | 6.69 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.09 million | 5.92 million | 6.25 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More education data for Japan
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,022 tertiary education (2023)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 440,864 (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 58.8% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 11.2% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, tertiary education, both sexes in Japan?
- School age population, tertiary education, both sexes in Japan was 5.92 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, tertiary education, both sexes recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 8.25 million in 2001.
- What is the lowest school age population, tertiary education, both sexes recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.92 million in 2025.
- How does Japan rank for school age population, tertiary education, both sexes?
- Japan ranks 20th out of 221 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, tertiary education, both sexes rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Japan data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School age population, tertiary education, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release