Duration of compulsory education (years) in El Salvador
El Salvador: Duration of compulsory education (years) was 15 years in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
15 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
3rd
of 206 countries
All-time high
15 years
in 2014
All-time low
9 years
in 1998
Years of data
28
1998–2025
Duration of compulsory education in El Salvador, 1998–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2025, duration of compulsory education in El Salvador stood at 15 years. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, duration of compulsory education in El Salvador peaked at 15 years in 2014 and was at its lowest, 9 years, in 1998.
El Salvador ranks 3rd of 206 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 (years) in El Salvador, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 9 years | — |
| 1999 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 12 years | +33.3% |
| 2014 | 15 years | +25.0% |
| 2015 | 15 years | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 15 years | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 15 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 15 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 15 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 15 years | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 15 years | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 15 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 15 years | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 15 years | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 15 years | +0.0% |
El Salvador compared with similar countries
- El Salvador's 15 years is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 10 years, 1.5× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- El Salvador's 15 years is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 12 years, 1.2× the median. (40 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 9 years | 9 years | 9 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 9 years | 9 years | 9 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.9 years | 9 years | 15 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 15 years | 15 years | 15 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near El Salvador
More education data for El Salvador
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 85.98 (2024)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 84.74 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 17,715 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 21,853 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 100,826 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 100,758 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 417,193 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 594,860 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.27 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is duration of compulsory education in El Salvador?
- Duration of compulsory education in El Salvador was 15 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest duration of compulsory education recorded in El Salvador?
- The highest recorded value was 15 years in 2014.
- What is the lowest duration of compulsory education recorded in El Salvador?
- The lowest recorded value was 9 years in 1998.
- How does El Salvador rank for duration of compulsory education?
- El Salvador ranks 3rd out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is duration of compulsory education rising or falling in El Salvador?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this El Salvador 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
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release