China: Secondary education, vocational pupils

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, China's secondary education, vocational pupils fell 0.4% on 2017 (from 15.99 million to 15.93 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1980 to 2017), the average change was +9.7% and a typical year strayed about 16% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 240.1% in 1972 and the biggest yearly fall was 9% in 2014. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2009 to 2018 the straight-line trend is downward, about 561,307 a year. A straight line explains 75% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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

How it compares

In 2018, China had the 2nd highest value of the 64 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 China in the 2018 ranking

• Indonesia — 2nd of 64: 4.9 million
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 3rd of 64: 2.02 million
• Bolivia — 4th of 64: 788,570

What this measures

Secondary vocational pupils are the number of secondary students enrolled in technical and vocational education programs, including teacher training.

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

All 43 values

Secondary education, vocational pupils in nearby economies

• Brunei Darussalam — 5,257 (2018)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 7,495 (2018)
• Indonesia — 4.9 million (2018)
• Korea, Rep. — 293,568 (2017)
• Lao PDR — 7,065 (2018)
• Macao SAR, China — 936 (2018)
• Malaysia — 285,095 (2018)
• Mongolia — 30,181 (2018)
• Myanmar — 7,348 (2018)
• New Zealand — 70,251 (2017)

More education data for China

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 12 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Secondary education, pupils — 97.98 million (2024)
• Secondary education, teachers — 7.41 million (2024)
• School enrollment, tertiary (% gross) — 76.88% (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 6.74 million (2024)
• Primary education, pupils — 108.57 million (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 99.65% (2024)
• School enrollment, preprimary (% gross)

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 China's secondary education, vocational pupils?

15.93 million in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1971?

It is up 24,796% from 63,976 in 1971 (12.46% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 21.14 million in 2013 and the lowest 63,976 in 1971.

How does China rank?

2nd highest of 64 economies with data for 2018.

Is the latest change in secondary education, vocational pupils unusual for China?

In 2018, China's secondary education, vocational pupils fell 0.4% on 2017 (from 15.99 million to 15.93 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1980 to 2017), the average change was +9.7% and a typical year strayed about 16% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.SEC.ENRL.VO, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://uis.unesco.org/bdds, publisher: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) 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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