Compulsory education, duration in European Union
European Union: Compulsory education, duration was 11 years in 2025. ▲ Rising
Compulsory education, duration in European Union, 1998–2025
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2025, compulsory education, duration in European Union stood at 11 years. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
That represents a change of up 10.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, compulsory education, duration in European Union peaked at 11 years in 2022 and was at its lowest, 9 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 | 9 years | 9 years | 9 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 9.6 years | 9 years | 10 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.67 years | 10 years | 11 years | 6 |
More education data for European Union
- Population ages 15-64 63.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 14.2% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 102.4% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 1.89 million (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 102.5% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, male 102.4% (2024)
- Labor force, total 221.68 million (2025)
- Labor force, female 46.4% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index 0.9996 GPI (2020)
- School enrollment, secondary 107.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is compulsory education, duration in European Union?
- Compulsory education, duration in European Union was 11 years in 2025, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest compulsory education, duration recorded in European Union?
- The highest recorded value was 11 years in 2022.
- What is the lowest compulsory education, duration recorded in European Union?
- The lowest recorded value was 9 years in 1998.
- Is compulsory education, duration rising or falling in European Union?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this European Union 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.