OECD members: Secondary education, general pupils

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, OECD members' secondary education, general pupils fell 0.8% on 2017 (from 89.4 million to 88.7 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1988 to 2017), the average change was +0.5% and a typical year strayed about 1.7% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 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 8.2% in 1971 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.2% in 1997. 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 345,455 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

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

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 49 values

Secondary education, general pupils in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 3.04 million (2018)
• Algeria — 4.08 million (2018)
• Bahrain — 92,483 (2018)
• Djibouti — 60,822 (2019)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 7.12 million (2018)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 4.92 million (2017)
• Israel — 657,883 (2017)
• Jordan — 766,641 (2018)
• Kuwait — 324,426 (2018)
• Lebanon — 339,951 (2018)
• Malta

More education data for OECD members

• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 91.38 million (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 6.28 million (2024)
• Primary education, teachers (% female) — 81.25% (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 116.41 million (2024)
• Secondary education, teachers — 8.66 million (2024)
• Persistence to last grade of primary, total (% of cohort) — 94.07% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1 (2020)
• School enrollment, primary and secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is OECD members's secondary education, general pupils?

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

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 52.41% from 58.2 million in 1970 (0.88% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 89.4 million in 2017 and the lowest 58.2 million in 1970.

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

In 2018, OECD members' secondary education, general pupils fell 0.8% on 2017 (from 89.4 million to 88.7 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1988 to 2017), the average change was +0.5% and a typical year strayed about 1.7% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

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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