Student population statistics

School and authority enrolment data, including special education statistics by code.

Student population

Starting with 2013/2014, the definition of an Alberta student is an individual who is registered as of September 30 of the school year in a school located in Alberta, where “school” means a structured learning environment through which an education program is offered to a student by:

  • a board (includes public, separate, Francophone, Lloydminster); an operator of a private school
  • an early childhood services (ECS) program private operator
  • the operator of a charter school
  • a parent giving a home education program
  • the Minister of Education
  • other Alberta-located educational institutions providing ECS to Grade 12 curriculum instruction, specifically Federal (First Nations schools and those operated by Corrections Canada) and provincial authorities (such as the four former Alberta Vocational Colleges)

Table 1. Alberta student population by grade

Note: *Enrolment as of January 2025 student count.
Grade2020/20212021/20222022/20232023/20242024/2025*
ECS59,94367,42868,46070,60969,931
Grade 157,10354,20458,42058,78958,597
Grade 255,67456,70655,55760,69760,608
Grade 356,39555,62858,43957,93362,747
Grade 455,89056,48957,12960,77360,080
Grade 556,17156,11658,17259,39862,770
Grade 657,56456,44357,60760,38761,422
Grade 756,76457,62557,87359,76562,286
Grade 855,90456,90758,93459,73961,516
Grade 952,59755,77257,50560,43561,239
Grade 1052,03854,21458,92860,89763,052
Grade 1151,32452,18655,15459,89262,162
Grade 1267,42766,05267,88073,02279,407
All grades734,794745,770770,058802,336825,817

Table 2. Alberta student population by authority system

School authority system2020/20212021/20222022/20232023/20242024/2025*
Public483,578492,362508,220524,754537,678
Separate174,689173,436177,588185,318191,143
Francophone8,5738,7659,0879,5269,839
Charter10,01210,57511,25712,78015,400
ECS Private Operator5,7507,0617,8478,2578,170
Private School38,07839,29241,15945,76248,024
Provincial1,6221,6251,5711,6221,239
Federal – First Nations11,92612,01712,58813,48513,661
Federal566637741832663
All schools and authorities734,794745,770770,058802,336825,817
*Enrolment as of January 2025 student count.
**Student population supervised by a school authority is also included in school authority numbers.
Home education population2020/20212021/20222022/20232023/20242024/2025*
Shared Responsibility Program**1,1621,4001,7572,0572,274
Home Education**24,19821,29619,44922,65324,158

Special education needs population

Alberta special education statistics by code and Alberta special education statistics by grade can be found on Open Data.

School and authority student population data

Preliminary school and authority enrolment data for the 2024-25 school year, along with school and authority enrolment data from each previous school year, beginning in 2016-17, is available on Open Data.

Contact

For questions about the enrolment data or funded enrolment, connect with Funding Analysis and Analytics Branch:
Email: [email protected]