School age population, one year before than official primary entry in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: School age population, one year before than official primary entry was 817,320 number in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
817,320 number
Change on year
down 0.6%
World rank
29th
of 202 countries
All-time high
987,641 number
in 1970
All-time low
664,410 number
in 1984
Years of data
51
1970–2020

School age population, one year before than official primary entry in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1970–2020

0200.0k400.0k600.0k800.0k1.0M197019952020

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.

Analysis

In 2020, school age population, one year before than official primary entry in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland stood at 817,320 number.

That represents a change of down 0.6% on the previous year and up 15.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school age population, one year before than official primary entry in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland peaked at 987,641 number in 1970 and was at its lowest, 664,410 number, in 1984.

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 29th of 202 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 51 years of available data.

School age population, one year before than official primary entry in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, year by year

Annual values for School age population, one year before than official primary entry age, both sexes (number) in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1970 to 2020.
Year number Change
1970 987,641 number
1971 979,596 number -0.8%
1972 963,659 number -1.6%
1973 937,359 number -2.7%
1974 905,301 number -3.4%
1975 873,740 number -3.5%
1976 850,426 number -2.7%
1977 815,732 number -4.1%
1978 778,893 number -4.5%
1979 743,361 number -4.6%
1980 713,207 number -4.1%
1981 693,167 number -2.8%
1982 677,781 number -2.2%
1983 668,273 number -1.4%
1984 664,410 number -0.6%
1985 665,586 number +0.2%
1986 670,656 number +0.8%
1987 689,482 number +2.8%
1988 713,660 number +3.5%
1989 738,138 number +3.4%
1990 756,313 number +2.5%
1991 760,361 number +0.5%
1992 766,636 number +0.8%
1993 769,575 number +0.4%
1994 770,463 number +0.1%
1995 771,347 number +0.1%
1996 774,808 number +0.4%
1997 770,907 number -0.5%
1998 764,376 number -0.8%
1999 755,848 number -1.1%
2000 746,169 number -1.3%
2001 736,588 number -1.3%
2002 723,125 number -1.8%
2003 709,468 number -1.9%
2004 697,604 number -1.7%
2005 689,863 number -1.1%
2006 688,683 number -0.2%
2007 688,877 number +0.0%
2008 692,103 number +0.5%
2009 698,835 number +1.0%
2010 709,557 number +1.5%
2011 724,923 number +2.2%
2012 750,495 number +3.5%
2013 779,460 number +3.9%
2014 806,702 number +3.5%
2015 825,562 number +2.3%
2016 827,920 number +0.3%
2017 830,176 number +0.3%
2018 827,584 number -0.3%
2019 822,311 number -0.6%
2020 817,320 number -0.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 883,571 number 743,361 number 987,641 number 10
1980s 689,436 number 664,410 number 738,138 number 10
1990s 766,063 number 755,848 number 774,808 number 10
2000s 707,132 number 688,683 number 746,169 number 10
2010s 790,469 number 709,557 number 830,176 number 10
2020s 817,320 number 817,320 number 817,320 number 1

Countries ranked near United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

  1. 26 Mozambique 955,672 number compare
  2. 27 Algeria 955,517 number compare
  3. 28 Myanmar 889,256 number compare
  4. 30 Yemen 799,757 number compare
  5. 31 France 799,279 number compare
  6. 32 Niger 797,322 number compare

See the full ranking of 247 places →

More reference data data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

All data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is school age population, one year before than official primary entry in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
School age population, one year before than official primary entry in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was 817,320 number in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school age population, one year before than official primary entry recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 987,641 number in 1970.
What is the lowest school age population, one year before than official primary entry recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 664,410 number in 1984.
How does United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland rank for school age population, one year before than official primary entry?
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 29th out of 202 countries with data for 2020.
Is school age population, one year before than official primary entry rising or falling in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is up 15.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School age population, one year before than official primary entry age, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 51 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

School age population, one year before than official primary entry in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 26 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/school-age-population-one-year-before-than-official-primary-entry-age-both-sexes-number/united-kingdom/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/school-age-population-one-year-before-than-official-primary-entry-age-both-sexes-number/united-kingdom/">School age population, one year before than official primary entry in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
School age population, one year before than official primary entry age, both sexes (number)
Unit
number
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
247 places, 12,237 data points, 1970–2020
Last refreshed

Population of the age-group theoretically corresponding to one year before the official primary entry age as indicated by theoretical entrance age and duration. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/