Which has higher lower secondary school starting age, East Timor or Tonga?

East Timor, at 12 years against 12 years in Tonga as of 2025.

What is the difference in lower secondary school starting age between East Timor and Tonga?

0 years, with East Timor ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for East Timor and Tonga?

56 years are reported by both, from 1970 to 2025.

Where does this data come from?

Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as Lower secondary school starting age (years). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

East Timor vs Tonga: Lower secondary school starting age

East Timor

12 years

in 2025

Tonga

12 years

in 2025

East Timor rank

30th

Tonga rank

30th

Lower secondary school starting age over time

East Timor
Tonga

How they compare

East Timor currently reports 12 years against 12 years in Tonga, a difference of 0 years.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 56 shared years of data; in 1970 it was Tonga ahead.

East Timor ranks 30th and Tonga ranks 30th of 209 countries.

East Timor has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	East Timor	Tonga	Difference	Ahead
1970s	12 years	12 years	0 years	—
1980s	12 years	11.4 years	0.6 years	East Timor
1990s	12 years	11 years	1 years	East Timor
2000s	12 years	11 years	1 years	East Timor
2010s	12 years	11.8 years	0.2 years	East Timor
2020s	12 years	12 years	0 years	—

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher lower secondary school starting age, East Timor or Tonga?: East Timor, at 12 years against 12 years in Tonga as of 2025.
What is the difference in lower secondary school starting age between East Timor and Tonga?: 0 years, with East Timor ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for East Timor and Tonga?: 56 years are reported by both, from 1970 to 2025.
How do East Timor and Tonga rank globally for lower secondary school starting age?: East Timor ranks 30th and Tonga ranks 30th of 209 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as Lower secondary school starting age (years). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: Lower secondary school starting age (years)
Unit: years
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 209 places, 11,411 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

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.