Zambia: Secondary education, pupils

Key figures

Since 1970 it is up 2,369% from 56,182 in 1970 (6.12% a year on average, compounded). The World Bank has no value for 35 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 10.9% in 1986. 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 27th highest value of the 100 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

• Ukraine — 23rd of 100: 2.63 million
• Ecuador — 24th of 100: 1.79 million
• Chile — 25th of 100: 1.63 million
• Syrian Arab Republic — 27th of 100: 1.36 million
• Bolivia — 28th of 100: 1.3 million
• Tajikistan — 29th of 100: 1.29 million

What this measures

Secondary education pupils is the total number of pupils enrolled at secondary level in public and private schools.

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

All 20 values

Secondary education, pupils in nearby economies

• Angola — 2.59 million (2023)
• Benin — 929,099 (2022)
• Botswana — 175,513 (2021)
• Burkina Faso — 1.19 million (2024)
• Burundi — 590,027 (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 55,831 (2022)
• Cameroon — 2.01 million (2023)
• Central African Republic — 137,844 (2017)
• Chad — 764,990 (2024)
• Comoros — 67,764 (2022)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 7.93 million (2023)

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)
• Primary education, pupils — 4.49 million (2024)
• 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)

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 secondary education, pupils?

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

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 2,369% from 56,182 in 1970 (6.12% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 1.39 million in 2024 and the lowest 56,182 in 1970.

How does Zambia rank?

27th highest of 100 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.SEC.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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