Population of compulsory school age, both sexes in China (People’s Republic of)

China (People’s Republic of): Population of compulsory school age, both sexes was 151.90 million number in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
151.90 million number
Change on year
up 0.6%
World rank
2nd
of 186 countries
All-time high
221.44 million number
in 2000
All-time low
149.86 million number
in 2015
Years of data
22
1998–2019

Population of compulsory school age, both sexes in China (People’s Republic of), 1998–2019

050.0M100.0M150.0M200.0M1998200820191998: 216.4M number1999: 220.5M number2000: 221.4M number2001: 218.7M number2002: 213.0M number2003: 205.4M number2004: 185.8M number2005: 177.1M number2006: 170.5M number2007: 165.0M number2008: 161.2M number2009: 158.6M number2010: 156.4M number2011: 154.3M number2012: 152.6M number2013: 151.2M number2014: 150.3M number2015: 149.9M number2016: 149.9M number2017: 150.3M number2018: 151.0M number2019: 151.9M number

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.

Analysis

The most recent figure for population of compulsory school age, both sexes in China (People’s Republic of) is 151.90 million number, measured in 2019.

That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and down 4.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, population of compulsory school age, both sexes in China (People’s Republic of) peaked at 221.44 million number in 2000 and was at its lowest, 149.86 million number, in 2015.

China (People’s Republic of) ranks 2nd of 186 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 218.48 million number 216.41 million number 220.55 million number 2
2000s 187.67 million number 158.59 million number 221.44 million number 10
2010s 151.78 million number 149.86 million number 156.44 million number 10

Countries ranked near China (People’s Republic of)

  1. 1 India 200.48 million number compare
  2. 3 Pakistan 56.33 million number compare
  3. 4 United States 49.70 million number compare
  4. 5 Nigeria 46.93 million number compare

See the full ranking of 231 places →

More reference data data for China (People’s Republic of)

All data for China (People’s Republic of) →

Frequently asked questions

What is population of compulsory school age, both sexes in China (People’s Republic of)?
Population of compulsory school age, both sexes in China (People’s Republic of) was 151.90 million number in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest population of compulsory school age, both sexes recorded in China (People’s Republic of)?
The highest recorded value was 221.44 million number in 2000.
What is the lowest population of compulsory school age, both sexes recorded in China (People’s Republic of)?
The lowest recorded value was 149.86 million number in 2015.
How does China (People’s Republic of) rank for population of compulsory school age, both sexes?
China (People’s Republic of) ranks 2nd out of 186 countries with data for 2019.
Is population of compulsory school age, both sexes rising or falling in China (People’s Republic of)?
Over the last ten years it is down 4.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this China (People’s Republic of) data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Population of compulsory school age, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Population of compulsory school age, both sexes in China (People’s Republic of). Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 17 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/population-of-compulsory-school-age-both-sexes-number/china/

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About this data

Indicator
Population of compulsory school age, both sexes (number)
Unit
number
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
231 places, 4,849 data points, 1975–2020
Last refreshed

Population of children within the age span that children are legally obliged to attend school.