Compulsory education, duration in Africa Eastern and Southern
Africa Eastern and Southern: Compulsory education, duration was 7.5 years in 2025. ▲ Rising
Compulsory education, duration in Africa Eastern and Southern, 1998–2025
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2025, compulsory education, duration in Africa Eastern and Southern stood at 7.5 years. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
That represents a change of up 7.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, compulsory education, duration in Africa Eastern and Southern peaked at 7.5 years in 2021 and was at its lowest, 7 years, in 1998.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7 years | 7 years | 7 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 7 years | 7 years | 7 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 7 years | 7 years | 7 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.42 years | 7 years | 7.5 years | 6 |
More education data for Africa Eastern and Southern
- Population ages 15-64 56.6% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 40.0% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 101.3% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 3.06 million (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 100.3% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, male 102.3% (2024)
- Labor force, female 47.2% (2025)
- Labor force, total 299.26 million (2025)
- School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index 0.9626 GPI (2020)
- School enrollment, secondary 45.6% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is compulsory education, duration in Africa Eastern and Southern?
- Compulsory education, duration in Africa Eastern and Southern was 7.5 years in 2025, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest compulsory education, duration recorded in Africa Eastern and Southern?
- The highest recorded value was 7.5 years in 2021.
- What is the lowest compulsory education, duration recorded in Africa Eastern and Southern?
- The lowest recorded value was 7 years in 1998.
- Is compulsory education, duration rising or falling in Africa Eastern and Southern?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Africa Eastern and Southern data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Compulsory education, duration (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Duration of compulsory education is the number of years that children are legally obliged to attend school.