India: Secondary education, pupils (% female)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, India's secondary education, pupils (% female) rose 0.58 percentage points on 2017 (from 47.48% to 48.06%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1978 to 2017), the average change was +0.42 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.68 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above 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 2.36 percentage points in 1983 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.56 percentage points in 1984. 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 upward, about 0.3 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 83% 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, India had the 56th highest value of the 71 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 2018 ranking

• Belarus — 52nd of 71: 48.29%
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 53rd of 71: 48.22%
• Thailand — 54th of 71: 48.2%
• Montenegro — 56th of 71: 48.03%
• Guatemala — 57th of 71: 47.83%
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 58th of 71: 47.57%

What this measures

Female pupils as a percentage of total pupils at secondary level includes enrollments in public and private schools.

Limitations: The percentage of female enrollment is limited in assessing gender parity, because it's affected by the gender composition of population. Ratio of female to male in enrollment rate provides a population adjusted measure of gender parity.

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

All 41 values

Secondary education, pupils (% female) in nearby economies

• Bangladesh — 52.64% (2018)
• Bhutan — 52.01% (2018)
• Nepal — 51.43% (2019)
• Sri Lanka — 51.12% (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

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Questions people ask

What is India's secondary education, pupils (% female)?

48.06% in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1971?

It is up 20.13 percentage points from 27.93% in 1971. The highest value was 48.06% in 2018 and the lowest 27.93% in 1971.

How does India rank?

56th highest of 71 economies with data for 2018.

Is the latest change in secondary education, pupils (% female) unusual for India?

In 2018, India's secondary education, pupils (% female) rose 0.58 percentage points on 2017 (from 47.48% to 48.06%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1978 to 2017), the average change was +0.42 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.68 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above 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.FE.ZS, 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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