Statizoid

Compulsory education, duration in Germany

Germany: Compulsory education, duration was 13 years in 2025. ▬ Flat

Latest (2025)
13 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
17th
of 197 countries
All-time high
13 years
in 1998
All-time low
13 years
in 1998
Years of data
28
1998–2025

Compulsory education, duration in Germany, 1998–2025

0510151998201120251998: 13 years1999: 13 years2000: 13 years2001: 13 years2002: 13 years2003: 13 years2004: 13 years2005: 13 years2006: 13 years2007: 13 years2008: 13 years2009: 13 years2010: 13 years2011: 13 years2012: 13 years2013: 13 years2014: 13 years2015: 13 years2016: 13 years2017: 13 years2018: 13 years2019: 13 years2020: 13 years2021: 13 years2022: 13 years2023: 13 years2024: 13 years2025: 13 years

Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.

Analysis

The most recent figure for compulsory education, duration in Germany is 13 years, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.

The figure is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, compulsory education, duration in Germany peaked at 13 years in 1998 and was at its lowest, 13 years, in 1998.

Germany ranks 17th of 197 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 13 years 13 years 13 years 2
2000s 13 years 13 years 13 years 10
2010s 13 years 13 years 13 years 10
2020s 13 years 13 years 13 years 6

Countries ranked near Germany

  1. 17 Aruba 13 years compare
  2. 17 Austria 13 years compare
  3. 17 Belgium 13 years compare
  4. 17 Bermuda 13 years compare
  5. 17 Costa Rica 13 years compare
  6. 17 France 13 years compare
  7. 17 Gibraltar 13 years compare
  8. 17 Hungary 13 years compare
  9. 17 Marshall Islands 13 years compare
  10. 17 Netherlands 13 years compare
  11. 17 North Macedonia 13 years compare
  12. 17 Paraguay 13 years compare
  13. 17 Philippines 13 years compare
  14. 17 Puerto Rico 13 years compare
  15. 17 Turks and Caicos Islands 13 years compare

See the full ranking of 243 places →

More education data for Germany

All data for Germany →

Frequently asked questions

What is compulsory education, duration in Germany?
Compulsory education, duration in Germany 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 Germany?
The highest recorded value was 13 years in 1998.
What is the lowest compulsory education, duration recorded in Germany?
The lowest recorded value was 13 years in 1998.
How does Germany rank for compulsory education, duration?
Germany ranks 17th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
Is compulsory education, duration rising or falling in Germany?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Germany 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

Indicator
Compulsory education, duration (years)
Unit
years
Source
Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
243 places, 6,506 data points, 1975–2025
Last refreshed

Duration of compulsory education is the number of years that children are legally obliged to attend school.