Primary education, pupils in Portugal

Portugal: Primary education, pupils was 598,661 in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
598,661
Change on year
up 1.9%
World rank
100th
of 206 countries
All-time high
1.27 million
in 1985
All-time low
583,173
in 2021
Years of data
51
1971–2023

Primary education, pupils in Portugal, 1971–2023

0500.0k1.0M1.5M197119972023

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

Analysis

Portugal recorded 598,661 for primary education, pupils in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.9% on the previous year and down 13.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, primary education, pupils in Portugal peaked at 1.27 million in 1985 and was at its lowest, 583,173, in 2021.

That places Portugal 100th 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 51 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 1.19 million 1.15 million 1.22 million 9
1980s 1.23 million 1.19 million 1.27 million 9
1990s 933,048 815,231 1.08 million 9
2000s 766,348 743,662 810,996 10
2010s 668,464 612,700 733,515 10
2020s 592,835 583,173 601,972 4

Countries ranked near Portugal

  1. 97 Turkmenistan 631,199 compare
  2. 98 Kyrgyzstan 630,435 compare
  3. 99 Azerbaijan 603,966 compare
  4. 101 El Salvador 594,860 compare
  5. 102 Namibia 590,029 compare
  6. 103 United Arab Emirates 586,477 compare

See the full ranking of 251 places →

More education data for Portugal

All data for Portugal →

Frequently asked questions

What is primary education, pupils in Portugal?
Primary education, pupils in Portugal was 598,661 in 2023, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
What is the highest primary education, pupils recorded in Portugal?
The highest recorded value was 1.27 million in 1985.
What is the lowest primary education, pupils recorded in Portugal?
The lowest recorded value was 583,173 in 2021.
How does Portugal rank for primary education, pupils?
Portugal ranks 100th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
Is primary education, pupils rising or falling in Portugal?
Over the last ten years it is down 13.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Portugal 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 — 51 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.