Duration of compulsory education in East Timor
East Timor: Duration of compulsory education was 9 years in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
9 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
120th
of 205 countries
All-time high
9 years
in 2008
All-time low
6 years
in 2000
Years of data
26
2000–2025
Duration of compulsory education in East Timor, 2000–2025
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 East Timor is 9 years, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, duration of compulsory education in East Timor peaked at 9 years in 2008 and was at its lowest, 6 years, in 2000.
East Timor ranks 120th of 205 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Duration of compulsory education in East Timor, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 6 years | — |
| 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% |
East Timor compared with similar countries
- East Timor's 9 years is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 9 years, 1.0× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- East Timor's 9 years is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 9 years, 1.0× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 East Timor
- 120 Afghanistan 9 years compare
- 120 Albania 9 years compare
- 120 Azerbaijan 9 years compare
- 120 Bahrain 9 years compare
- 120 Bosnia and Herzegovina 9 years compare
- 120 Brunei 9 years compare
- 120 China 9 years compare
- 120 Cuba 9 years compare
- 120 Estonia 9 years compare
- 120 Gambia 9 years compare
- 120 Georgia 9 years compare
- 120 Guinea-Bissau 9 years compare
- 120 Hong Kong 9 years compare
- 120 Indonesia 9 years compare
- 120 Iran 9 years compare
- 120 Japan 9 years compare
- 120 Kazakhstan 9 years compare
- 120 Kiribati 9 years compare
- 120 Kuwait 9 years compare
- 120 Laos 9 years compare
- 120 Libya 9 years compare
- 120 Liechtenstein 9 years compare
- 120 Mali 9 years compare
- 120 Mauritania 9 years compare
- 120 Montenegro 9 years compare
- 120 Morocco 9 years compare
- 120 Nepal 9 years compare
- 120 Nigeria 9 years compare
- 120 Poland 9 years compare
- 120 Saudi Arabia 9 years compare
- 120 Sierra Leone 9 years compare
- 120 Slovenia 9 years compare
- 120 South Africa 9 years compare
- 120 South Korea 9 years compare
- 120 Syria 9 years compare
- 120 Tajikistan 9 years compare
- 120 Thailand 9 years compare
- 120 Tunisia 9 years compare
- 120 Tuvalu 9 years compare
- 120 Yemen 9 years compare
More education data for East Timor
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 112,858 (2023)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 83,943 (2020)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 227,656 (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 2.28 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 1.93 % change on previous year (2020)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7,144 (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), per capita 0.1645 units per person (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 114,798 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is duration of compulsory education in East Timor?
- Duration of compulsory education in East Timor was 9 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 East Timor?
- The highest recorded value was 9 years in 2008.
- What is the lowest duration of compulsory education recorded in East Timor?
- The lowest recorded value was 6 years in 2000.
- How does East Timor rank for duration of compulsory education?
- East Timor ranks 120th out of 205 countries with data for 2025.
- Is duration of compulsory education rising or falling in East Timor?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this East Timor 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 — 26 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.