Compulsory education, duration in Euro area
Euro area: Compulsory education, duration was 11 years in 2025. ▲ Rising
Compulsory education, duration in Euro area, 1998–2025
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2025, compulsory education, duration in Euro area stood at 11 years. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
The figure is up 10.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, compulsory education, duration in Euro area peaked at 11 years in 2020 and was at its lowest, 9 years, in 1998.
Euro area ranks 4th of 46 groups 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 | 9 years | 9 years | 9 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 9.85 years | 9.5 years | 10 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 11 years | 11 years | 11 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Euro area
More education data for Euro area
- Population ages 0-14 14.0% (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 63.1% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 102.9% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 1.51 million (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 102.8% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, male 103.0% (2024)
- Labor force, total 175.75 million (2025)
- Labor force, female 46.6% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index 1 GPI (2020)
- School enrollment, secondary 108.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is compulsory education, duration in Euro area?
- Compulsory education, duration in Euro area 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 Euro area?
- The highest recorded value was 11 years in 2020.
- What is the lowest compulsory education, duration recorded in Euro area?
- The lowest recorded value was 9 years in 1998.
- How does Euro area rank for compulsory education, duration?
- Euro area ranks 4th out of 46 groups with data for 2025.
- Is compulsory education, duration rising or falling in Euro area?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Euro area 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.