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115,787 Students Begin Exams in Kurdistan: 73% Science, 25% Literature, 2% Vocational
Today marks the start of the general examinations for Grade 12 preparatory students for the 2024–2025 academic year in the Kurdistan Region. More than 115,000 students from the literary, scientific, and vocational streams are participating.
Across all four governorates of the Kurdistan Region, a total of 115,787 students are taking part, distributed across 2,017 examination halls.
Interestingly, around 73% of the students are enrolled in the Science stream, with a student-to-school ratio of 63. Literature students account for about 25%, with a ratio of 49, while vocational students make up just 2% of the total Grade 12 cohort, with a ratio of 31.
The full breakdown is as follows:
Number of Grade 12 Preparatory Students in the Kurdistan Region
Comprehensive Analysis by Stream and Governorate
115,787
Total Students
2,017
Total Schools
84,298
Science Students
28,865
Literature Students
Student Distribution by Stream
Students by Governorate
Advanced Analytics & Key Insights
Academic Distribution
72.8% of students pursue science tracks, while 24.9% choose literature. Only 2.3% are in vocational programs, indicating a strong preference for academic preparation.
Regional Capacity
Erbil leads with 44,439 students (38.4% of total), followed by Sulaimani with 36,649 (31.7%). Average class size: 57 students per school.
Stream Efficiency
Science schools average 63 students each, literature schools 49 students, and vocational schools only 31 students – suggesting underutilized vocational capacity.
Educational Imbalance
The science-to-literature ratio is 2.9:1, while vocational education represents only 1 in 44 students, indicating potential skills gap challenges.
Detailed Statistics by Governorate
| Governorate | Science Students |
Science Schools |
Literature Students |
Literature Schools |
Vocational Students |
Vocational Schools |
Total Students |
Total Schools |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erbil | 33,356 | 538 | 10,397 | 233 | 686 | 23 | 44,439 | 794 |
| Sulaimani | 27,624 | 410 | 7,643 | 125 | 1,382 | 41 | 36,649 | 576 |
| Duhok | 22,131 | 376 | 10,376 | 217 | 484 | 14 | 32,991 | 607 |
| Halabja | 1,187 | 24 | 449 | 10 | 72 | 6 | 1,708 | 40 |
| Total | 84,298 | 1,348 | 28,865 | 585 | 2,624 | 84 | 115,787 | 2,017 |
Source: KRG Education Ministry | The National Context
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