Afghanistan: Primary education, pupils

Key figures

What the numbers say

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 244.8% in 2002 and the biggest yearly fall was 64.3% in 1982. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2023, Afghanistan had the 9th highest value of the 44 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Afghanistan in the 2023 ranking

• Kenya — 5th of 44: 8.04 million
• Russian Federation — 6th of 44: 7.55 million
• South Africa — 7th of 44: 7.52 million
• Japan — 9th of 44: 6.25 million
• Türkiye — 10th of 44: 5.54 million
• Angola — 11th of 44: 5.38 million

What this measures

Primary education pupils is the total number of pupils enrolled at primary level in public and private schools.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.

All 45 values

Primary education, pupils in nearby economies

• Algeria — 5.3 million (2025)
• Bahrain — 122,305 (2024)
• Djibouti — 69,705 (2023)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 15.4 million (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 9.09 million (2023)
• Israel — 1.05 million (2024)
• Jordan — 1.12 million (2024)
• Kuwait — 265,113 (2021)
• Lebanon — 533,550 (2024)
• Malta — 27,337 (2023)
• Morocco — 4.61 million (2024)
• Oman

More education data for Afghanistan

• Primary school starting age (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 13 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 112.23% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 97.87% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 125.93% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 0.67 (2019)
• Primary education, pupils (% female) — 38.96% (2018)
• Secondary education, pupils

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Afghanistan's primary education, pupils?

7.51 million in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 1,288% from 540,685 in 1970 (5.09% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 7.51 million in 2023 and the lowest 365,458 in 1982.

How does Afghanistan rank?

9th highest of 44 economies with data for 2023.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API..

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.PRM.ENRL, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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