Lower secondary school starting age in Denmark
Denmark: Lower secondary school starting age was 13 years in 2025. ▲ Rising
Lower secondary school starting age in Denmark, 1970–2025
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for lower secondary school starting age in Denmark is 13 years, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, lower secondary school starting age in Denmark peaked at 13 years in 1981 and was at its lowest, 12 years, in 1970.
That places Denmark 5th out of 209 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 12 years | 12 years | 12 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 12.9 years | 12 years | 13 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 13 years | 13 years | 13 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 13 years | 13 years | 13 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 13 years | 13 years | 13 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 13 years | 13 years | 13 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Denmark
- 5 Afghanistan 13 years compare
- 5 Botswana 13 years compare
- 5 El Salvador 13 years compare
- 5 Equatorial Guinea 13 years compare
- 5 Estonia 13 years compare
- 5 Eswatini 13 years compare
- 5 Ethiopia 13 years compare
- 5 Finland 13 years compare
- 5 Gambia 13 years compare
- 5 Guatemala 13 years compare
- 5 Guinea 13 years compare
- 5 Iceland 13 years compare
- 5 Indonesia 13 years compare
- 5 Latvia 13 years compare
- 5 Lesotho 13 years compare
- 5 Mali 13 years compare
- 5 Mozambique 13 years compare
- 5 Niger 13 years compare
- 5 Norway 13 years compare
- 5 Papua New Guinea 13 years compare
- 5 Sweden 13 years compare
- 5 Uganda 13 years compare
- 5 Zimbabwe 13 years compare
More education data for Denmark
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 63.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 15.6% (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 99.8% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 42,105 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.52 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 99.6% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, male 99.9% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is lower secondary school starting age in Denmark?
- Lower secondary school starting age in Denmark was 13 years in 2025, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest lower secondary school starting age recorded in Denmark?
- The highest recorded value was 13 years in 1981.
- What is the lowest lower secondary school starting age recorded in Denmark?
- The lowest recorded value was 12 years in 1970.
- How does Denmark rank for lower secondary school starting age?
- Denmark ranks 5th out of 209 countries with data for 2025.
- Is lower secondary school starting age rising or falling in Denmark?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Denmark data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Lower secondary school starting age (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Lower secondary school starting age is the age at which students would enter lower secondary education, assuming they had started at the official entrance age for the lowest level of education, had studied full-time throughout and had progressed through the system without repeating or skipping a grade.