Lower secondary school starting age in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Lower secondary school starting age was 13 years in 2025. ▼ Falling
Lower secondary school starting age in Zimbabwe, 1970–2025
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
Zimbabwe recorded 13 years for lower secondary school starting age in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 56 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, lower secondary school starting age in Zimbabwe peaked at 14 years in 1970 and was at its lowest, 13 years, in 1987.
That places Zimbabwe 5th out of 209 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 56 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 14 years | 14 years | 14 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 13.7 years | 13 years | 14 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 13 years | 13 years | 13 years | 10 |
| 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 Zimbabwe
- 5 Afghanistan 13 years compare
- 5 Botswana 13 years compare
- 5 Denmark 13 years compare
- 5 El Salvador 13 years compare
- 5 Equatorial Guinea 13 years compare
- 5 Estonia 13 years compare
- 5 Eswatini 13 years compare
- 5 Ethiopia 13 years compare
- 5 Finland 13 years compare
- 5 Gambia 13 years compare
- 5 Guatemala 13 years compare
- 5 Guinea 13 years compare
- 5 Iceland 13 years compare
- 5 Indonesia 13 years compare
- 5 Ireland 13 years compare
- 5 Latvia 13 years compare
- 5 Lesotho 13 years compare
- 5 Mali 13 years compare
- 5 Mozambique 13 years compare
- 5 Niger 13 years compare
- 5 Norway 13 years compare
- 5 Papua New Guinea 13 years compare
- 5 Sweden 13 years compare
- 5 Uganda 13 years compare
More education data for Zimbabwe
- Population ages 0-14 40.3% (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 56.2% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 93.1% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 90,330 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 93.4% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, male 92.8% (2024)
- Labor force, total 6.85 million (2025)
- Labor force, female 49.6% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index 1.01 GPI (2021)
Frequently asked questions
- What is lower secondary school starting age in Zimbabwe?
- Lower secondary school starting age in Zimbabwe was 13 years in 2025, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest lower secondary school starting age recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 14 years in 1970.
- What is the lowest lower secondary school starting age recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 13 years in 1987.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for lower secondary school starting age?
- Zimbabwe ranks 5th out of 209 countries with data for 2025.
- Is lower secondary school starting age rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zimbabwe data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Lower secondary school starting age (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Lower secondary school starting age is the age at which students would enter lower secondary education, assuming they had started at the official entrance age for the lowest level of education, had studied full-time throughout and had progressed through the system without repeating or skipping a grade.