Skip Navigation

Indicator 1. School-Age Population

The United States was the only G-8 country to experience a net percentage gain (6 percent) in the population of 5- to 29-year-olds from 2000 to 2010.

In 2010, the total population across the G-8 countries ranged from 33.8 million in Canada to 310.2 million in the United States, and the population of 5- to 29-year-olds (roughly the population most likely to be enrolled in education) ranged from 10.4 million in Canada to 106.2 million in the United States (table 1-1). The population of 5- to 29-year-olds represented 34 percent of the total population in the United States (table 1-2). In the other G-8 countries, the corresponding percentages ranged from 24 percent in Italy to 32 percent in the Russian Federation.

The United States was the only G-8 country to experience a net percentage gain (6 percent) in the population of 5- to 29-year-olds from 2000 to 2010 (figure 1-1). In every other G-8 country except Canada, there was a net percentage decline, ranging from 18 percent in Japan to 1 percent in the United Kingdom and France. In Canada, there was less than 1 percent change in the percentage of this population from 2000 to 2010 (-0.25 percent).5

The subpopulation of 5- to 19-year-olds (which generally includes individuals of primary- and secondary-school age) represented 20 percent of the total population in the United States in 2010 (table 1-2). The U.S. percentage was higher than the percentages in all other G-8 countries, which ranged from 14 percent in Italy and Japan to 18 percent in France and the United Kingdom.

From 2000 to 2010, the United States was the only G-8 country with a net percentage gain (3 percent) in the subpopulation of 5- to 19-year-olds (figure 1-1). In every other G-8 country except France, there was a net percentage decline, ranging from 34 percent in the Russian Federation to 5 percent in Italy and the United Kingdom. In France, there was less than 1% change in the percentage of this population from 2000 to 2010 (0.09 percent).6

The subpopulation of 20- to 29-year-olds (which generally includes individuals of postsecondary education age) represented 14 percent of the total population in the United States in 2010, below the percentage in the Russian Federation (17 percent) (table 1-2). The percentages in the other G-8 countries—ranging from 10 percent in Italy to 13 percent in Canada, the United Kingdom, and France—were lower than the U.S. percentage.

The United States had the largest net percentage gain in the subpopulation of 20- to 29-year-olds, an increase of 12 percent from 2000 to 2010 (figure 1-1). The Russian Federation had the second largest net percentage gain (10 percent). Among the other G-8 countries, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany experienced net percentage gains from 2000 to 2010 (8, 5, and 3 percent, respectively), while Italy, Japan, and France experienced net percentage declines (27, 25, and 3 percent, respectively).

Definitions and Methodology

In each country, the percentage of the population of 5- to 29-year-olds in 2000 and 2010 is calculated by dividing the population of 5- to 29-year-olds by the total population. The percentage change in the population of 5- to 29-year-olds is calculated by subtracting the population of 5- to 29-year-olds in 2000 from this population in 2010 and dividing by the 2000 population of 5- to 29-year-olds. These calculations are applied in the same way to the age groups 5 to 19 and 20 to 29. The age group (e.g., 5 to 29) as a percentage of the total population may have declined from 2000 to 2010 even though the size of the age group may have increased. This could occur if there was a higher rate of increase for the total population than for the population age group.


5 Figure is based on rounded numbers.
6 Figure is based on rounded numbers.