Zambia: Primary education, pupils

Key figures

Since 1970 it is up 546.21% from 694,670 in 1970 (3.52% a year on average, compounded). The World Bank has no value for 10 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 14.3% in 2005 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.4% in 2009. 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 2024, Zambia had the 16th 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 Zambia in the 2024 ranking

• Côte d'Ivoire — 13th of 119: 4.82 million
• Malawi — 14th of 119: 4.75 million
• Morocco — 15th of 119: 4.61 million
• France — 17th of 119: 4.13 million
• Peru — 18th of 119: 3.71 million
• Venezuela, RB — 19th of 119: 3.54 million

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 45 values

Primary education, pupils in nearby economies

• Angola — 5.38 million (2023)
• Benin — 2.4 million (2022)
• Botswana — 381,674 (2022)
• Burkina Faso — 3.07 million (2024)
• Burundi — 2.52 million (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 61,167 (2022)
• Cameroon — 5.29 million (2024)
• Central African Republic — 813,767 (2016)
• Chad — 3.05 million (2024)
• Comoros — 102,152 (2024)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 21.15 million (2023)
• Congo, Rep.

More education data for Zambia

• Primary school starting age (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 14 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 5 (2025)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 115.55% (2024)
• Over-age students, primary (% of enrollment) — 13.95% (2017)
• Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP) — 4.07% (2023)
• Over-age students, primary, female (% of female enrollment) — 13.08% (2017)
• Over-age students, primary, male (% of male enrollment) — 14.83% (2017)
• Primary education, teachers

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 Zambia's primary education, pupils?

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

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 546.21% from 694,670 in 1970 (3.52% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 4.49 million in 2024 and the lowest 694,670 in 1970.

How does Zambia rank?

16th highest of 119 economies with data for 2024.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, 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..

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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