Duration of compulsory education in Philippines
Philippines: Duration of compulsory education was 13 years in 2025. ▲ Rising
Duration of compulsory education in Philippines, 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 Philippines is 13 years, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
That represents a change of up 18.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, duration of compulsory education in Philippines peaked at 13 years in 2018 and was at its lowest, 10 years, in 1998.
Philippines ranks 17th of 205 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 Philippines, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 10 years | — |
| 1999 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 2013 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 13 years | +18.2% |
| 2019 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 13 years | +0.0% |
Philippines compared with similar countries
- Philippines's 13 years is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 10 years, 1.3× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Philippines's 13 years is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 9 years, 1.4× the median. (29 countries reporting)
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 | 11.2 years | 10 years | 13 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 13 years | 13 years | 13 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Philippines
- 17 Aruba 13 years compare
- 17 Austria 13 years compare
- 17 Belgium 13 years compare
- 17 Bermuda 13 years compare
- 17 Costa Rica 13 years compare
- 17 France 13 years compare
- 17 Germany 13 years compare
- 17 Gibraltar 13 years compare
- 17 Hungary 13 years compare
- 17 Marshall Islands 13 years compare
- 17 Netherlands 13 years compare
- 17 North Macedonia 13 years compare
- 17 Paraguay 13 years compare
- 17 Puerto Rico 13 years compare
- 17 Turks and Caicos Islands 13 years compare
More education data for Philippines
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 495,843 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 201,568 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.06 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 983,812 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 11.87 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 13.06 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.8345 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1128 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is duration of compulsory education in Philippines?
- Duration of compulsory education in Philippines was 13 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 Philippines?
- The highest recorded value was 13 years in 2018.
- What is the lowest duration of compulsory education recorded in Philippines?
- The lowest recorded value was 10 years in 1998.
- How does Philippines rank for duration of compulsory education?
- Philippines ranks 17th out of 205 countries with data for 2025.
- Is duration of compulsory education rising or falling in Philippines?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Philippines 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.