School age population, upper secondary education, both sexes (number) in Nepal
Nepal: School age population, upper secondary education, both sexes (number) was 2.30 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
School age population, upper secondary education, both sexes in Nepal, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
In 2025, school age population, upper secondary education, both sexes in Nepal stood at 2.30 million.
The figure is down 1.4% on the previous year and down 14.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, upper secondary education, both sexes in Nepal peaked at 2.77 million in 2010 and was at its lowest, 805,088, in 1970.
That places Nepal 34th out of 220 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 47 years of available data.
School age population, upper secondary education, both sexes (number) in Nepal, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 805,088 | — |
| 1971 | 817,713 | +1.6% |
| 1981 | 1.03 million | +26.0% |
| 1982 | 1.06 million | +2.8% |
| 1983 | 1.09 million | +2.6% |
| 1984 | 1.11 million | +2.6% |
| 1985 | 1.14 million | +2.5% |
| 1986 | 1.17 million | +2.4% |
| 1987 | 1.19 million | +2.0% |
| 1988 | 1.22 million | +2.3% |
| 1989 | 1.25 million | +2.5% |
| 1990 | 1.29 million | +3.0% |
| 1991 | 1.32 million | +2.7% |
| 1992 | 1.36 million | +2.9% |
| 1993 | 919,966 | -32.4% |
| 1994 | 944,777 | +2.7% |
| 1995 | 967,036 | +2.4% |
| 1996 | 990,606 | +2.4% |
| 1997 | 1.02 million | +2.8% |
| 1998 | 2.03 million | +99.2% |
| 1999 | 2.09 million | +2.8% |
| 2000 | 2.14 million | +2.7% |
| 2001 | 2.20 million | +2.5% |
| 2002 | 2.25 million | +2.5% |
| 2003 | 2.36 million | +5.0% |
| 2004 | 2.42 million | +2.3% |
| 2005 | 2.48 million | +2.4% |
| 2006 | 2.54 million | +2.4% |
| 2007 | 2.61 million | +2.7% |
| 2008 | 2.67 million | +2.5% |
| 2009 | 2.74 million | +2.4% |
| 2010 | 2.77 million | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 2.77 million | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 2.77 million | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 2.74 million | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 2.71 million | -1.1% |
| 2015 | 2.69 million | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 2.66 million | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 2.62 million | -1.5% |
| 2018 | 2.57 million | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 2.52 million | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 2.48 million | -1.7% |
| 2021 | 2.45 million | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 2.43 million | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 2.38 million | -2.1% |
| 2024 | 2.34 million | -1.7% |
| 2025 | 2.30 million | -1.4% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 2.30 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 938,414, 2.5× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nepal's 2.30 million is above the median for South Asia, which is 1.87 million, 1.2× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School age population, upper secondary education, both sexes (number) in Nepal changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | +99.2% | 1.02 million | 2.03 million |
| 1993 | -32.4% | 1.36 million | 919,966 |
| 1981 | +26.0% | 817,713 | 1.03 million |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 811,400 | 805,088 | 817,713 | 2 |
| 1980s | 1.14 million | 1.03 million | 1.25 million | 9 |
| 1990s | 1.29 million | 919,966 | 2.09 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.44 million | 2.14 million | 2.74 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.68 million | 2.52 million | 2.77 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.40 million | 2.30 million | 2.48 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More education data for Nepal
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 124,257 (2025)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 263,796 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 752,326 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 609,324 (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.67 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.57 million (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.31 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1204 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, upper secondary education, both sexes in Nepal?
- School age population, upper secondary education, both sexes in Nepal was 2.30 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, upper secondary education, both sexes recorded in Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 2.77 million in 2010.
- What is the lowest school age population, upper secondary education, both sexes recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 805,088 in 1970.
- How does Nepal rank for school age population, upper secondary education, both sexes?
- Nepal ranks 34th out of 220 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, upper secondary education, both sexes rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nepal data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School age population, upper secondary education, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 47 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release