Duration of compulsory education (years) in Guatemala
Guatemala: Duration of compulsory education (years) was 16 years in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
16 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
2nd
of 206 countries
All-time high
16 years
in 1998
All-time low
16 years
in 1998
Years of data
28
1998–2025
Duration of compulsory education in Guatemala, 1998–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Guatemala recorded 16 years for duration of compulsory education in 2025. 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 Guatemala peaked at 16 years in 1998 and was at its lowest, 16 years, in 1998.
Guatemala ranks 2nd of 206 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
Duration of compulsory education (years) in Guatemala, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 16 years | — |
| 1999 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 16 years | +0.0% |
Guatemala compared with similar countries
- Guatemala's 16 years is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 10 years, 1.6× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Guatemala's 16 years is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 12 years, 1.3× the median. (40 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 16 years | 16 years | 16 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 16 years | 16 years | 16 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 16 years | 16 years | 16 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 16 years | 16 years | 16 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Guatemala
More education data for Guatemala
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 91.64 (2024)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 91.57 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 122,548 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 247,917 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 335,306 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 328,468 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.13 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.42 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.3948 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is duration of compulsory education in Guatemala?
- Duration of compulsory education in Guatemala was 16 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest duration of compulsory education recorded in Guatemala?
- The highest recorded value was 16 years in 1998.
- What is the lowest duration of compulsory education recorded in Guatemala?
- The lowest recorded value was 16 years in 1998.
- How does Guatemala rank for duration of compulsory education?
- Guatemala ranks 2nd out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is duration of compulsory education rising or falling in Guatemala?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Guatemala 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