How many schoolchildren and teachers are there in Russia: statistics by year
In the 2024/25 academic year, 17.99 million people were studying in Russian schools, and 1,069 thousand teachers were teaching. Over five years, the number of schoolchildren increased by 1.42 million, while the number of teachers decreased by 14 thousand. The workload increased accordingly: 16.8 students per teacher compared to 15.3 in the 2019/20 academic year. 2.7 million children still study in the second and third shifts. Data from Rosstat.
Below is the number of students by academic year, teacher workload, class size, shift schedules, and interactive charts.
How many schoolchildren are there in Russia by year
Thousands of people at the beginning of the academic year, primary, basic, and secondary general education programs.
| Academic year | Schoolchildren | Teachers |
|---|---|---|
| 2000/01 | 20,550 | no data |
| 2010/11 | 13,642 | no data |
| 2019/20 | 16,566 | 1,083 |
| 2020/21 | 16,894 | 1,087 |
| 2021/22 | 17,314 | 1,083 |
| 2022/23 | 17,745 | 1,080 |
| 2023/24 | 17,997 | 1,075 |
| 2024/25 | 17,988 | 1,069 |
The shape of the series is a delayed echo of the demographics of the nineties. In the 2000/01 academic year, there were 20.55 million people in schools, that is, the last numerous generations. By the 2010/11 academic year, 13.64 million remained: children born in 1996–2003, the smallest cohorts in a hundred years, started school. Then a return began, and it has ended: the 2024/25 academic year saw the first decline in fourteen years, albeit by nine thousand people.
The series will continue to decline. Children born in 2017–2018 are now entering the first grade, and the birth rate has been falling every year since 2016. Details on the page population of Russia by year.
The number of teachers is decreasing
While the number of students was increasing by 300–400 thousand per year, the number of teachers did not change at all, and since 2021 it has begun to decline.
The peak occurred in the 2020/21 academic year (1,087.3 thousand); since then, 18.3 thousand positions have been lost, and the decline has continued every year. The ratio is calculated simply: 17,988 divided by 1,069 equals 16.8 students per teacher. Five years ago, it was 15.3.
The increase in workload by a tenth over five years looks modest in percentage terms, but in practice, this means two to three additional students in every class for every teacher. The dataset with figures provides a series for both indicators at once.
Classes have become fuller than in 2000
Average class size, persons:
- Grades 1–4: 18 in 2000/01, 17 in 2010/11, 22 in 2024/25;
- Grades 5–9: 21, 18, 22;
- Grades 10–11: 21, 17, 17.
Primary and middle school classes have returned to a size higher than the Soviet level, while senior classes have remained at the level of 17 students. The reason is that after the ninth grade, a significant portion of students leave for colleges: the number of students in basic general education programs in 2024/25 is 1,639 thousand, and in secondary general education programs, it is 603 thousand.
Second shift: 2.7 million children
Share of students in the second and third shifts:
- 2000/01: 4.0 million people, 21 percent;
- 2010/11: 1.7 million, 13 percent;
- 2022/23: 2.7 million, 16 percent;
- 2024/25: 2.7 million, 16 percent.
The minimum was reached in 2010, when the number of students was at its lowest. Since then, the second shift has returned and has remained at 16 percent for the third year in a row. School construction is not keeping pace with the growth in the number of students: new places are being introduced, but in the same growing cities where the number of children is also increasing.
Questions and answers
How many schoolchildren are there in Russia in the 2024/25 academic year?
17.99 million people in primary, basic, and secondary general education programs. This figure does not include students in colleges and technical schools.
How many teachers are there in Russia?
1,069 thousand people, including primary school teachers and subject teachers. The number has been declining for the fourth consecutive year.
How many students are there per teacher?
16.8 in the 2024/25 academic year. Five years ago, it was 15.3. For comparison, in OECD countries, the typical ratio in basic secondary school is 13–14 students per teacher.
How many children study in the second shift?
2.7 million, or 16 percent of all schoolchildren. The third shift remains in certain regions and is accounted for together with the second shift in general statistics.
Will there be fewer schoolchildren?
Yes. The number stopped growing in the 2024/25 year, and children from increasingly smaller generations are entering the first grade: the birth rate has been declining since 2016. Over the next ten years, schools will gradually empty, starting with the lower grades.
In brief
- Schoolchildren: 17.99 million, the first decline in fourteen years.
- Teachers: 1,069 thousand, minus 18.3 thousand from the peak in the 2020/21 year.
- Workload: 16.8 students per teacher against 15.3 five years ago.
- Grades 1–9 are fuller than in 2000, senior grades have remained almost unchanged.
- 2.7 million children, or 16 percent, study in the second and third shifts.
Data source: Rosstat, "Social Status and Living Standards of the Population of Russia" collection and the Russian Statistical Yearbook.