The number of first-graders in Ukraine has almost halved

In the 2026/2027 school year, 243,398 children entered the first grades of Ukrainian schools. This is about 46.5% less than in the 2018/2019 school year, when general secondary schools had almost 455,000 first-graders.

This is evidenced by data from the Ministry of Education and Science and the Institute of Educational Analytics.

According to the Ministry of Education and Science, this year 243,398 children began first grade. For comparison, in the 2018/2019 school year, general secondary schools in Ukraine had 454,929 first-graders.

Thus, over eight years, their number decreased by 211,531 children, or 46.5%.

The number of first-graders is also decreasing compared to last year

The trend continued in the last year as well. At the beginning of the 2025/2026 school year, the head of the parliamentary committee on education, Serhiy Babak, estimated the number of first-graders at approximately 252,000.

Later statistics from the Institute of Educational Analytics showed that as of May 2026, 255,266 children were studying in first grades.

Even if one compares the new enrollment with this adjusted figure, the number of first-graders decreased by almost 12,000, or about 4.6%, over the year.

If one takes the operational estimate at the beginning of the last school year - about 252,000 - the decrease is approximately 8,600 children.

Demographics and departure abroad affect the number of schoolchildren

One of the main reasons for the decline in the number of school-age children remains the long-term drop in the birth rate in Ukraine.

Serhiy Babak previously also linked the worsening demographic situation in schools to the mass departure of families with children abroad after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion.

According to current data from the Ministry of Education and Science, about 315,000 Ukrainian children are now studying outside Ukraine.

For them, 120 verified Ukrainian educational hubs operate abroad. Some children simultaneously continue to study according to the Ukrainian educational program remotely.

The demographic decline will continue to affect schools for several more years

The current first-grader statistics reflect demographic processes that began long before the full-scale war. Children born in 2019-2020, when the number of births in Ukraine was already steadily declining, mainly entered school in 2026.

The full-scale war further accelerated this trend due to a sharp drop in the birth rate and the departure of millions of Ukrainians, among whom a significant proportion were women with children.

Therefore, even if some families return from abroad, the Ukrainian education system will continue to feel the consequences of the demographic decline in the form of a decrease in the number of elementary school students for several more years.

Based on materials from: Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Institute of Educational Analytics, ZN.UA