Duration of compulsory education in years in Turkey
Turkey: Duration of compulsory education in years was 12 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
12
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
8th
of 73 countries
All-time high
12
in 2012
All-time low
8
in 1998
Years of data
28
1998–2025
Duration of compulsory education in years in Turkey, 1998–2025
Source: UNICEF.
Analysis
In 2025, duration of compulsory education in years in Turkey stood at 12. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, duration of compulsory education in years in Turkey peaked at 12 in 2012 and was at its lowest, 8, in 1998.
Turkey ranks 8th of 73 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Duration of compulsory education in years in Turkey, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 8 | — |
| 1999 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 12 | +50.0% |
| 2013 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 12 | +0.0% |
Turkey compared with similar countries
- Turkey's 12 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 9, 1.3× the median. (19 countries reporting)
- Turkey's 12 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 10, 1.2× the median. (52 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 8 | 8 | 8 | 2 |
| 2000s | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.2 | 8 | 12 | 10 |
| 2020s | 12 | 12 | 12 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Turkey
More education data for Turkey
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 99.5 (2017)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.4 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 788,294 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 184,302 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.05 million (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 980,973 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 12.31 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 5.54 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.87 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is duration of compulsory education in years in Turkey?
- Duration of compulsory education in years in Turkey was 12 in 2025, according to UNICEF.
- What is the highest duration of compulsory education in years recorded in Turkey?
- The highest recorded value was 12 in 2012.
- What is the lowest duration of compulsory education in years recorded in Turkey?
- The lowest recorded value was 8 in 1998.
- How does Turkey rank for duration of compulsory education in years?
- Turkey ranks 8th out of 73 countries with data for 2025.
- Is duration of compulsory education in years rising or falling in Turkey?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Turkey data come from?
- The figures come from UNICEF, published as part of Duration of compulsory education in years. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required).