Secondary education, general pupils in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Secondary education, general pupils was 4.17 million in 2017. ▼ Falling
Latest (2017)
4.17 million
Change on year
up 0.6%
World rank
25th
of 204 countries
All-time high
5.13 million
in 1979
All-time low
3.83 million
in 1990
Years of data
47
1971–2017
Secondary education, general pupils in United Kingdom, 1971–2017
Source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Analysis
In 2017, secondary education, general pupils in United Kingdom stood at 4.17 million.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.6% on the previous year and down 3.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, secondary education, general pupils in United Kingdom peaked at 5.13 million in 1979 and was at its lowest, 3.83 million, in 1990.
That places United Kingdom 25th out of 204 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 47 years of available data.
Secondary education, general pupils in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 4.01 million | — |
| 1972 | 4.13 million | +3.2% |
| 1973 | 4.27 million | +3.3% |
| 1974 | 4.68 million | +9.5% |
| 1975 | 4.82 million | +3.0% |
| 1976 | 4.95 million | +2.7% |
| 1977 | 5.06 million | +2.2% |
| 1978 | 5.11 million | +1.1% |
| 1979 | 5.13 million | +0.5% |
| 1980 | 5.12 million | -0.4% |
| 1981 | 5.09 million | -0.6% |
| 1982 | 5.04 million | -0.9% |
| 1983 | 4.98 million | -1.3% |
| 1984 | 4.86 million | -2.3% |
| 1985 | 4.62 million | -5.0% |
| 1986 | 4.47 million | -3.2% |
| 1987 | 4.27 million | -4.6% |
| 1988 | 4.09 million | -4.3% |
| 1989 | 3.94 million | -3.7% |
| 1990 | 3.83 million | -2.6% |
| 1991 | 3.86 million | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 3.88 million | +0.7% |
| 1993 | 4.02 million | +3.5% |
| 1994 | 4.00 million | -0.5% |
| 1995 | 4.06 million | +1.6% |
| 1996 | 4.08 million | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 4.11 million | +0.9% |
| 1998 | 4.34 million | +5.6% |
| 1999 | 4.19 million | -3.4% |
| 2000 | 4.26 million | +1.5% |
| 2001 | 4.32 million | +1.6% |
| 2002 | 4.37 million | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 4.47 million | +2.3% |
| 2004 | 4.40 million | -1.6% |
| 2005 | 4.41 million | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 4.38 million | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 4.32 million | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 4.64 million | +7.5% |
| 2009 | 4.75 million | +2.4% |
| 2010 | 4.81 million | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 4.55 million | -5.3% |
| 2012 | 4.38 million | -3.7% |
| 2013 | 4.41 million | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 4.47 million | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 4.49 million | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 4.15 million | -7.6% |
| 2017 | 4.17 million | +0.6% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 4.17 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 229,383, 18.2× the median. (77 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 4.17 million is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 377,758, 11.1× the median. (52 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.68 million | 4.01 million | 5.13 million | 9 |
| 1980s | 4.65 million | 3.94 million | 5.12 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.04 million | 3.83 million | 4.34 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.43 million | 4.26 million | 4.75 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.43 million | 4.15 million | 4.81 million | 8 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More education data for United Kingdom
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 388,714 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2012)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 830,495 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 790,556 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.40 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.86 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.0111 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.071 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is secondary education, general pupils in United Kingdom?
- Secondary education, general pupils in United Kingdom was 4.17 million in 2017, according to Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest secondary education, general pupils recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 5.13 million in 1979.
- What is the lowest secondary education, general pupils recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.83 million in 1990.
- How does United Kingdom rank for secondary education, general pupils?
- United Kingdom ranks 25th out of 204 countries with data for 2017.
- Is secondary education, general pupils rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
- The figures come from Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Secondary education, general pupils. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 47 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Secondary general pupils are the number of secondary students enrolled in general education programs, including teacher training.