Israel: Primary education, pupils

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Israel's primary education, pupils rose 1% on 2023 (from 1.04 million to 1.05 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2023), the average change was +2.1% and a typical year strayed about 0.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 4.8% in 1980 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.5% in 1990. 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 19,253 a year. A straight line explains 100% 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 1.11 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 6,852, against 36,017 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, Israel had the 45th highest value of the 119 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 Israel in the 2024 ranking

• Bolivia — 41st of 119: 1.38 million
• Dominican Republic — 42nd of 119: 1.17 million
• Jordan — 43rd of 119: 1.12 million
• Honduras — 45th of 119: 1.03 million
• Tajikistan — 46th of 119: 1.01 million
• Mauritania — 47th of 119: 891,821

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 50 values

Primary education, pupils in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 7.51 million (2023)
• 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)
• 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 Israel

• 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 — 948,390 (2024)
• School enrollment, preprimary (% gross) — 111.23% (2020)
• Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP) — 5.93% (2022)
• Secondary education, vocational pupils — 161,579 (2017)
• Primary education, teachers — 92,770 (2024)
• Secondary education, general pupils — 657,883 (2017)

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 Israel's primary education, pupils?

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

How has it changed since 1973?

It is up 170.13% from 388,057 in 1973 (1.97% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 1.05 million in 2024 and the lowest 388,057 in 1973.

How does Israel rank?

45th highest of 119 economies with data for 2024.

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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