Primary education, pupils in Bangladesh

Bangladesh: Primary education, pupils was 16.69 million in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
16.69 million
Change on year
up 2.7%
World rank
8th
of 206 countries
All-time high
17.60 million
in 2020
All-time low
5.04 million
in 1971
Years of data
34
1970–2024

Primary education, pupils in Bangladesh, 1970–2024

5.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M1970199720241970: 5.3M1971: 5.0M1972: 6.4M1973: 7.8M1974: 7.7M1975: 8.3M1976: 8.7M1977: 8.2M1978: 8.2M1979: 8.2M1980: 8.2M1981: 8.3M1982: 8.4M1983: 8.8M1984: 8.9M1985: 8.9M1986: 9.1M1987: 9.2M1988: 11.1M1989: 11.3M1990: 11.9M2005: 16.2M2006: 16.4M2007: 16.3M2008: 16.0M2009: 16.5M2010: 17.0M2017: 17.2M2018: 17.3M2020: 17.6M2021: 17.0M2022: 17.2M2023: 16.3M2024: 16.7M

Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Analysis

The most recent figure for primary education, pupils in Bangladesh is 16.69 million, measured in 2024.

The figure is up 2.7% on the previous year and down 3.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, primary education, pupils in Bangladesh peaked at 17.60 million in 2020 and was at its lowest, 5.04 million, in 1971.

Bangladesh ranks 8th of 206 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 7.40 million 5.04 million 8.67 million 10
1980s 9.23 million 8.24 million 11.29 million 10
1990s 11.94 million 11.94 million 11.94 million 1
2000s 16.29 million 16.00 million 16.54 million 5
2010s 17.17 million 16.99 million 17.34 million 3
2020s 16.93 million 16.25 million 17.60 million 5

Countries ranked near Bangladesh

  1. 5 Pakistan 25.38 million compare
  2. 6 United States 23.83 million compare
  3. 7 Democratic Republic of Congo 21.15 million compare
  4. 9 Ethiopia 15.93 million compare
  5. 10 Egypt 15.40 million compare
  6. 11 Brazil 15.11 million compare

See the full ranking of 251 places →

More education data for Bangladesh

All data for Bangladesh →

Frequently asked questions

What is primary education, pupils in Bangladesh?
Primary education, pupils in Bangladesh was 16.69 million in 2024, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
What is the highest primary education, pupils recorded in Bangladesh?
The highest recorded value was 17.60 million in 2020.
What is the lowest primary education, pupils recorded in Bangladesh?
The lowest recorded value was 5.04 million in 1971.
How does Bangladesh rank for primary education, pupils?
Bangladesh ranks 8th out of 206 countries with data for 2024.
Is primary education, pupils rising or falling in Bangladesh?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Bangladesh data come from?
The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Primary education, pupils. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

About this data

Indicator
Primary education, pupils
Source
Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
251 places, 11,297 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

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