Compulsory education, duration in Europe & Central Asia

Europe & Central Asia: Compulsory education, duration was 11 years in 2025. β–² Rising

Latest (2025)
11 years
Change on year
unchanged
Rank
4th
of 45 groups
All-time high
11 years
in 2022
All-time low
9 years
in 1998
Years of data
28
1998–2025

Compulsory education, duration in Europe & Central Asia, 1998–2025

02.557.5101998201120251998: 9 years1999: 9 years2000: 9 years2001: 9 years2002: 9 years2003: 9 years2004: 9 years2005: 9 years2006: 9 years2007: 9 years2008: 9 years2009: 10 years2010: 10 years2011: 10 years2012: 10 years2013: 10 years2014: 10 years2015: 10 years2016: 10 years2017: 10 years2018: 10 years2019: 10 years2020: 10 years2021: 10 years2022: 11 years2023: 11 years2024: 11 years2025: 11 years

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

Analysis

In 2025, compulsory education, duration in Europe & Central Asia stood at 11 years. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.

That represents a change of up 10.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, compulsory education, duration in Europe & Central Asia peaked at 11 years in 2022 and was at its lowest, 9 years, in 1998.

That places Europe & Central Asia 4th out of 45 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 9 years 9 years 9 years 2
2000s 9.1 years 9 years 10 years 10
2010s 10 years 10 years 10 years 10
2020s 10.67 years 10 years 11 years 6

Countries ranked near Europe & Central Asia

  1. 1 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 17 years compare
  2. 2 Guatemala 16 years compare
  3. 3 Dominican Republic 15 years compare
  4. 3 Ecuador 15 years compare
  5. 3 El Salvador 15 years compare
  6. 3 Israel 15 years compare
  7. 3 Tonga 15 years compare

See the full ranking of 243 places β†’

More education data for Europe & Central Asia

All data for Europe & Central Asia β†’

Frequently asked questions

What is compulsory education, duration in Europe & Central Asia?
Compulsory education, duration in Europe & Central Asia 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 Europe & Central Asia?
The highest recorded value was 11 years in 2022.
What is the lowest compulsory education, duration recorded in Europe & Central Asia?
The lowest recorded value was 9 years in 1998.
How does Europe & Central Asia rank for compulsory education, duration?
Europe & Central Asia ranks 4th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
Is compulsory education, duration rising or falling in Europe & Central Asia?
Over the last ten years it is up 10.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Europe & Central Asia 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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Compulsory education, duration in Europe & Central Asia. Statizoid, drawing on Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/compulsory-education-duration-years/europe-and-central-asia/

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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.