Lower secondary school starting age in Nepal
Nepal: Lower secondary school starting age was 10 years in 2025. ▼ Falling
Lower secondary school starting age in Nepal, 1970–2025
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2025, lower secondary school starting age in Nepal stood at 10 years. That is the lowest value across all 47 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, lower secondary school starting age in Nepal peaked at 11 years in 1970 and was at its lowest, 10 years, in 2003.
Nepal ranks 192nd of 209 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 47 years of available data.
Lower secondary school starting age in Nepal, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 11 years | — |
| 1971 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 10 years | -9.1% |
| 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 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 10 years | +0.0% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 10 years is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 12 years, 83% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Nepal's 10 years is below the median for South Asia, which is 11 years, 91% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 11 years | 11 years | 11 years | 2 |
| 1980s | 11 years | 11 years | 11 years | 9 |
| 1990s | 11 years | 11 years | 11 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.3 years | 10 years | 11 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
- 192 Armenia 10 years compare
- 192 Austria 10 years compare
- 192 Azerbaijan 10 years compare
- 192 Belarus 10 years compare
- 192 Germany 10 years compare
- 192 Kazakhstan 10 years compare
- 192 Myanmar 10 years compare
- 192 Oman 10 years compare
- 192 Pakistan 10 years compare
- 192 Slovakia 10 years compare
- 192 Somalia 10 years compare
- 192 Sri Lanka 10 years compare
- 192 Turkey 10 years compare
- 192 Turkmenistan 10 years compare
- 192 Ukraine 10 years compare
- 192 United Arab Emirates 10 years compare
- 192 Palestine 10 years compare
More education data for Nepal
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 124,257 (2025)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 263,796 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 752,326 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 609,324 (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.67 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.57 million (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.31 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1204 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is lower secondary school starting age in Nepal?
- Lower secondary school starting age in Nepal was 10 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 Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 11 years in 1970.
- What is the lowest lower secondary school starting age recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 10 years in 2003.
- How does Nepal rank for lower secondary school starting age?
- Nepal ranks 192nd out of 209 countries with data for 2025.
- Is lower secondary school starting age rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nepal 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.