School age population, upper secondary education, both sexes in European Union
European Union: School age population, upper secondary education, both sexes was 18.53 million number in 2019. ▼ Falling
Latest (2019)
18.53 million number
Change on year
down 0.5%
Rank
2nd
of 2 groups
All-time high
27.22 million number
in 1981
All-time low
18.53 million number
in 2019
Years of data
50
1970–2019
School age population, upper secondary education, both sexes in European Union, 1970–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.
Analysis
In 2019, school age population, upper secondary education, both sexes in European Union stood at 18.53 million number. That is the lowest value across all 50 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.5% on the previous year and down 7.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, upper secondary education, both sexes in European Union peaked at 27.22 million number in 1981 and was at its lowest, 18.53 million number, in 2019.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 50 years of available data.
School age population, upper secondary education, both sexes in European Union, year by year
| Year | number | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 24.33 million number | — |
| 1971 | 25.24 million number | +3.8% |
| 1972 | 25.51 million number | +1.0% |
| 1973 | 25.79 million number | +1.1% |
| 1974 | 26.05 million number | +1.0% |
| 1975 | 26.28 million number | +0.9% |
| 1976 | 26.49 million number | +0.8% |
| 1977 | 26.70 million number | +0.8% |
| 1978 | 26.28 million number | -1.6% |
| 1979 | 26.96 million number | +2.6% |
| 1980 | 27.02 million number | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 27.22 million number | +0.7% |
| 1982 | 27.18 million number | -0.1% |
| 1983 | 27.14 million number | -0.2% |
| 1984 | 27.09 million number | -0.2% |
| 1985 | 27.01 million number | -0.3% |
| 1986 | 26.83 million number | -0.6% |
| 1987 | 26.55 million number | -1.0% |
| 1988 | 25.64 million number | -3.4% |
| 1989 | 25.72 million number | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 25.35 million number | -1.4% |
| 1991 | 24.94 million number | -1.6% |
| 1992 | 24.56 million number | -1.5% |
| 1993 | 24.36 million number | -0.8% |
| 1994 | 24.09 million number | -1.1% |
| 1995 | 23.82 million number | -1.1% |
| 1996 | 23.57 million number | -1.0% |
| 1997 | 23.39 million number | -0.8% |
| 1998 | 23.11 million number | -1.2% |
| 1999 | 22.00 million number | -4.8% |
| 2000 | 21.76 million number | -1.1% |
| 2001 | 21.61 million number | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 20.98 million number | -2.9% |
| 2003 | 21.11 million number | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 21.10 million number | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 21.00 million number | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 20.83 million number | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 20.63 million number | -1.0% |
| 2008 | 20.37 million number | -1.3% |
| 2009 | 20.04 million number | -1.6% |
| 2010 | 19.71 million number | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 19.39 million number | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 19.15 million number | -1.2% |
| 2013 | 19.37 million number | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 19.17 million number | -1.1% |
| 2015 | 18.96 million number | -1.1% |
| 2016 | 18.82 million number | -0.8% |
| 2017 | 18.72 million number | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 18.63 million number | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 18.53 million number | -0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 25.96 million number | 24.33 million number | 26.96 million number | 10 |
| 1980s | 26.74 million number | 25.64 million number | 27.22 million number | 10 |
| 1990s | 23.92 million number | 22.00 million number | 25.35 million number | 10 |
| 2000s | 20.94 million number | 20.04 million number | 21.76 million number | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.05 million number | 18.53 million number | 19.71 million number | 10 |
Countries ranked near European Union
More education data for European Union
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 1.89 million (2024)
- Population ages 15-64 63.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 14.2% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 102.4% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 1.89 million (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, per capita 0.0042 units per person (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 102.5% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, male 102.4% (2024)
- Labor force, total 221.68 million (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, upper secondary education, both sexes in European Union?
- School age population, upper secondary education, both sexes in European Union was 18.53 million number in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, upper secondary education, both sexes recorded in European Union?
- The highest recorded value was 27.22 million number in 1981.
- What is the lowest school age population, upper secondary education, both sexes recorded in European Union?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.53 million number in 2019.
- How does European Union rank for school age population, upper secondary education, both sexes?
- European Union ranks 2nd out of 2 groups with data for 2019.
- Is school age population, upper secondary education, both sexes rising or falling in European Union?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this European Union 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 — 50 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Population of the age-group theoretically corresponding to upper secondary education as indicated by theoretical entrance age and duration.