France: Secondary education, pupils

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, France's secondary education, pupils rose 0.2% on 2023 (from 6.26 million to 6.27 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.4% and a typical year strayed about 1.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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 7.3% in 1994 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.4% in 1975. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 33,390 a year. A straight line explains 99% 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.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 6.4 million for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 13,919, against 61,680 for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2024, France had the 9th highest value of the 100 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 France in the 2024 ranking

• Philippines — 6th of 100: 11.87 million
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 7th of 100: 11.56 million
• Germany — 8th of 100: 6.97 million
• Algeria — 10th of 100: 6.07 million
• Spain — 11th of 100: 3.71 million
• Nepal — 12th of 100: 3.67 million

What this measures

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

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

All 54 values

Secondary education, pupils in nearby economies

• Albania — 208,738 (2024)
• Andorra — 5,245 (2024)
• Armenia — 290,201 (2024)
• Austria — 706,802 (2024)
• Azerbaijan — 1.06 million (2024)
• Belarus — 729,741 (2024)
• Belgium — 1.18 million (2023)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 226,755 (2023)
• Bulgaria — 485,226 (2024)
• Croatia — 325,996 (2023)
• Cyprus — 61,230 (2024)
• Czechia

More education data for France

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 5 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 11 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 4.13 million (2024)
• School enrollment, preprimary (% gross) — 106.66% (2020)
• School enrollment, preprimary, female (% gross) — 106.01% (2020)
• School enrollment, preprimary, male (% gross) — 107.28% (2020)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 0.99 (2020)
• School enrollment, primary, private (% of total primary)

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 France's secondary education, pupils?

6.27 million in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1971?

It is up 46.48% from 4.28 million in 1971 (0.72% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 6.27 million in 2024 and the lowest 4.28 million in 1971.

How does France rank?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.SEC.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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