Compulsory education, duration in France
France: Compulsory education, duration was 13 years in 2025. ▲ Rising
Compulsory education, duration in France, 1998–2025
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
France recorded 13 years for compulsory education, duration in 2025. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
The figure is up 30.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, compulsory education, duration in France peaked at 13 years in 2020 and was at its lowest, 10 years, in 1998.
France ranks 17th of 197 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 13 years | 13 years | 13 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near France
- 17 Aruba 13 years compare
- 17 Austria 13 years compare
- 17 Belgium 13 years compare
- 17 Bermuda 13 years compare
- 17 Costa Rica 13 years compare
- 17 Germany 13 years compare
- 17 Gibraltar 13 years compare
- 17 Hungary 13 years compare
- 17 Marshall Islands 13 years compare
- 17 Netherlands 13 years compare
- 17 North Macedonia 13 years compare
- 17 Paraguay 13 years compare
- 17 Philippines 13 years compare
- 17 Puerto Rico 13 years compare
- 17 Turks and Caicos Islands 13 years compare
More education data for France
- Lower secondary school starting age 11 years (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 16.2% (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 61.2% (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 103.4% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 229,471 (2013)
- School enrollment, primary, female 103.5% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, male 103.4% (2024)
- Labor force, female 48.4% (2025)
- Labor force, total 31.86 million (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is compulsory education, duration in France?
- Compulsory education, duration in France was 13 years in 2025, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest compulsory education, duration recorded in France?
- The highest recorded value was 13 years in 2020.
- What is the lowest compulsory education, duration recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 10 years in 1998.
- How does France rank for compulsory education, duration?
- France ranks 17th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is compulsory education, duration rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is up 30.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this France 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.
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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.