How many primary school pupils are there in the EU

In 2024, 23.2 million pupils were in primary education in the EU, a slight decrease of 0.2% (-35 153 pupils) from 2023. However, compared with 2014, the same number increased by 2.9% (+659 086).

France registered the largest number of pupils in primary education in 2024, 4.1 million, followed by Germany (3.3 million), Spain (2.8 million) and Italy (2.6 million). By contrast, Malta (27 537), Luxembourg (43 020), and Cyprus (60 596) recorded the lowest figures. The number of pupils in primary education reflects population size, demographic structure, and differences in the typical age for starting primary education and the age at which children should start compulsory formal education.

Source dataset: educ_uoe_enrp04

Compared with 2014, the number of pupils in primary education increased in 15 EU countries and decreased in the remaining 11 countries with available data.The biggest relative increases were observed in Luxembourg (+21.4%) and Slovenia (+18.2%), while the biggest relative declines were in Poland (-25.7%), Croatia (-10.3%) and Portugal (-10.0%).

Pupil to teacher ratio down since 2014

In 2024, the EU averaged 13.3 primary education pupils per teacher. The pupil-teacher ratio provides information on the level of teacher resources available in an education system and may be used as an indirect indicator when analysing schooling conditions.

In 2024, Greece and Luxembourg recorded the lowest pupil-teacher ratios for primary education, at 7.4 and 8.2 pupils per teacher, respectively. These were the only EU countries to report ratios below 10. At the other end of the range, Germany (15.2 pupils per teacher), the Netherlands (16.3), Czechia and France (both 17.9), and Romania (18.2) reported ratios above 15.

Source dataset: educ_uoe_perp04

Compared with 2014, the pupil-teacher ratio at EU level decreased from 14.2 to 13.3 in 2024. The same trend was registered in 23 EU countries, with the highest declines in Bulgaria (from 17.8 to 10.4) and Slovenia (from 15.9 to 10.8).

In Austria, the ratio remained unchanged at 12.0 pupils per teacher between 2014 and 2024. The other EU countries registered increases, most notably in Lithuania from 10.2 to 13.7 pupils per teacher.

This news item marks International Literacy Day, as primary education programmes are typically designed to provide students with fundamental skills in reading, writing and mathematics (in other words, literacy and numeracy) and to establish a solid foundation for learning and understanding core areas of knowledge, personal and social development.