Compulsory education, duration (years) in South Asia
South Asia: Compulsory education, duration (years) was 8.5 years in 2025. ▲ Rising
Compulsory education, duration in South Asia, 1998–2025
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
South Asia recorded 8.5 years for compulsory education, duration in 2025. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, compulsory education, duration in South Asia peaked at 8.5 years in 2015 and was at its lowest, 7 years, in 1998.
South Asia ranks 37th of 46 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Compulsory education, duration (years) in South Asia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 7 years | — |
| 1999 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 2010 | 8 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 8 years | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 8 years | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 8 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 8 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 8.5 years | +6.2% |
| 2016 | 8.5 years | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 8.5 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 8.5 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 8.5 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 8.5 years | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 8.5 years | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 8.5 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 8.5 years | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 8.5 years | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 8.5 years | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7 years | 7 years | 7 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 7.1 years | 7 years | 8 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.25 years | 8 years | 8.5 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.5 years | 8.5 years | 8.5 years | 6 |
More education data for South Asia
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 152.88 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0959 units per person (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 4.5 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 160.82 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 5.84 million (2024)
- Population ages 15-64 68.1% (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, per capita 0.0911 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is compulsory education, duration in South Asia?
- Compulsory education, duration in South Asia was 8.5 years in 2025, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest compulsory education, duration recorded in South Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 8.5 years in 2015.
- What is the lowest compulsory education, duration recorded in South Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 7 years in 1998.
- How does South Asia rank for compulsory education, duration?
- South Asia ranks 37th out of 46 groups with data for 2025.
- Is compulsory education, duration rising or falling in South Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South 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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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.