Primary education, pupils in Italy

Italy: Primary education, pupils was 2.63 million in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
2.63 million
Change on year
down 0.2%
World rank
58th
of 206 countries
All-time high
4.97 million
in 1973
All-time low
2.63 million
in 2023
Years of data
53
1971–2023

Primary education, pupils in Italy, 1971–2023

01.0M2.0M3.0M4.0M5.0M197119972023

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for primary education, pupils in Italy is 2.63 million, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 53 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.2% on the previous year and down 8.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, primary education, pupils in Italy peaked at 4.97 million in 1973 and was at its lowest, 2.63 million, in 2023.

That places Italy 58th out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 53 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 4.83 million 4.56 million 4.97 million 9
1980s 3.93 million 3.24 million 4.51 million 10
1990s 2.92 million 2.81 million 3.14 million 10
2000s 2.80 million 2.77 million 2.84 million 10
2010s 2.85 million 2.82 million 2.90 million 10
2020s 2.67 million 2.63 million 2.76 million 4

Countries ranked near Italy

  1. 55 Zimbabwe 2.94 million compare
  2. 56 Spain 2.83 million compare
  3. 57 Haiti 2.63 million compare
  4. 59 Burundi 2.52 million compare
  5. 60 South Korea 2.51 million compare
  6. 61 Canada 2.43 million compare

See the full ranking of 251 places →

More education data for Italy

All data for Italy →

Frequently asked questions

What is primary education, pupils in Italy?
Primary education, pupils in Italy was 2.63 million in 2023, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
What is the highest primary education, pupils recorded in Italy?
The highest recorded value was 4.97 million in 1973.
What is the lowest primary education, pupils recorded in Italy?
The lowest recorded value was 2.63 million in 2023.
How does Italy rank for primary education, pupils?
Italy ranks 58th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
Is primary education, pupils rising or falling in Italy?
Over the last ten years it is down 8.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Italy 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 — 53 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.