Duration of compulsory education in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Duration of compulsory education was 9 years in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
9 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
115th
of 200 countries
All-time high
9 years
in 2008
All-time low
6 years
in 1998
Years of data
28
1998–2025
Duration of compulsory education in Afghanistan, 1998–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Afghanistan recorded 9 years for duration of compulsory education 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, duration of compulsory education in Afghanistan peaked at 9 years in 2008 and was at its lowest, 6 years, in 1998.
That places Afghanistan 115th out of 200 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Duration of compulsory education in Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 6 years | — |
| 1999 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 9 years | +50.0% |
| 2009 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 9 years | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 6.6 years | 6 years | 9 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 9 years | 9 years | 9 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 9 years | 9 years | 9 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
- 115 Albania 9 years compare
- 115 Azerbaijan 9 years compare
- 115 Bahrain 9 years compare
- 115 Bosnia and Herzegovina 9 years compare
- 115 Brunei Darussalam 9 years compare
- 115 China (People’s Republic of) 9 years compare
- 115 Cuba 9 years compare
- 115 Estonia 9 years compare
- 115 Georgia 9 years compare
- 115 Gambia 9 years compare
- 115 Guinea-Bissau 9 years compare
- 115 Hong Kong, China 9 years compare
- 115 Indonesia 9 years compare
- 115 Iran, Islamic Republic of 9 years compare
- 115 Japan 9 years compare
- 115 Kazakhstan 9 years compare
- 115 Kiribati 9 years compare
- 115 Korea 9 years compare
- 115 Kuwait 9 years compare
- 115 Lao People's Democratic Republic 9 years compare
- 115 Libya 9 years compare
- 115 Liechtenstein 9 years compare
- 115 Morocco 9 years compare
- 115 Mali 9 years compare
- 115 Montenegro 9 years compare
- 115 Mauritania 9 years compare
- 115 Nigeria 9 years compare
- 115 Nepal 9 years compare
- 115 Poland 9 years compare
- 115 Saudi Arabia 9 years compare
- 115 Sierra Leone 9 years compare
- 115 Slovenia 9 years compare
- 115 Syrian Arab Republic 9 years compare
- 115 Thailand 9 years compare
- 115 Tajikistan 9 years compare
- 115 Timor-Leste 9 years compare
- 115 Tunisia 9 years compare
- 115 Tuvalu 9 years compare
- 115 Yemen 9 years compare
- 115 South Africa 9 years compare
More education data for Afghanistan
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 163,167 (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 1 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 6 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 55.0% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 42.6% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 112.23 (2023)
- School enrollment, primary 112.2% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is duration of compulsory education in Afghanistan?
- Duration of compulsory education in Afghanistan was 9 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest duration of compulsory education recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 9 years in 2008.
- What is the lowest duration of compulsory education recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 6 years in 1998.
- How does Afghanistan rank for duration of compulsory education?
- Afghanistan ranks 115th out of 200 countries with data for 2025.
- Is duration of compulsory education rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Duration of compulsory education (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release