India: Secondary education, general pupils

Key figures

Since 1971 it is up 509.47% from 20.92 million in 1971 (4.01% a year on average, compounded). The World Bank has no value for 6 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2017, India's secondary education, general pupils fell 2.2% on 2016 (from 130.4 million to 127.53 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1980 to 2016), the average change was +4.7% and a typical year strayed about 2.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 12.8% in 1990 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.2% in 2017. 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 2017, India had the 1st highest value of the 69 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 India in the 2017 ranking

• Brazil — 2nd of 69: 22.16 million
• Mexico — 3rd of 69: 10.28 million
• Türkiye — 4th of 69: 8.69 million

What this measures

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

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

All 41 values

Secondary education, general pupils in nearby economies

• Bangladesh — 15.11 million (2018)
• Bhutan — 74,638 (2018)
• Maldives — 20,969 (2017)
• Nepal — 3.42 million (2019)
• Sri Lanka — 2.62 million (2018)

More education data for India

• 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 — 126.12 million (2025)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 111.03% (2025)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 110.61% (2025)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 111.42% (2025)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1.02 (2021)
• Secondary education, pupils — 133.16 million (2025)

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 India's secondary education, general pupils?

127.53 million in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1971?

It is up 509.47% from 20.92 million in 1971 (4.01% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 130.4 million in 2016 and the lowest 20.92 million in 1971.

How does India rank?

1st highest of 69 economies with data for 2017.

Is the latest change in secondary education, general pupils unusual for India?

In 2017, India's secondary education, general pupils fell 2.2% on 2016 (from 130.4 million to 127.53 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1980 to 2016), the average change was +4.7% and a typical year strayed about 2.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

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