Duration of compulsory education in Canada
Canada: Duration of compulsory education was 10 years in 2025. ▬ Flat
Duration of compulsory education in Canada, 1998–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for duration of compulsory education in Canada is 10 years, measured 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 Canada peaked at 10 years in 1998 and was at its lowest, 10 years, in 1998.
That places Canada 86th out of 205 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Canada
- 86 Algeria 10 years compare
- 86 Andorra 10 years compare
- 86 Angola 10 years compare
- 86 Burkina Faso 10 years compare
- 86 Cape Verde 10 years compare
- 86 Central African Republic 10 years compare
- 86 Chad 10 years compare
- 86 Congo 10 years compare
- 86 Cote d'Ivoire 10 years compare
- 86 Cyprus 10 years compare
- 86 Czechia 10 years compare
- 86 Denmark 10 years compare
- 86 Djibouti 10 years compare
- 86 Gabon 10 years compare
- 86 Greece 10 years compare
- 86 Iceland 10 years compare
- 86 Jordan 10 years compare
- 86 Kyrgyzstan 10 years compare
- 86 Lebanon 10 years compare
- 86 Macao 10 years compare
- 86 Moldova 10 years compare
- 86 New Zealand 10 years compare
- 86 Norway 10 years compare
- 86 Oman 10 years compare
- 86 Palestine 10 years compare
- 86 Romania 10 years compare
- 86 Saint Lucia 10 years compare
- 86 San Marino 10 years compare
- 86 Spain 10 years compare
- 86 Sweden 10 years compare
- 86 Togo 10 years compare
- 86 Vietnam 10 years compare
More education data for Canada
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 64.8% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 15.0% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 95.0% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 141,045 (2000)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.34 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 95.1% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is duration of compulsory education in Canada?
- Duration of compulsory education in Canada was 10 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest duration of compulsory education recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 10 years in 1998.
- What is the lowest duration of compulsory education recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 10 years in 1998.
- How does Canada rank for duration of compulsory education?
- Canada ranks 86th out of 205 countries with data for 2025.
- Is duration of compulsory education rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Canada data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Duration of compulsory education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The number of years of compulsory education is based on students starting at the earliest entrance age, studying full-time, and advancing without grade repetition or skipping.