Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Chile
Chile: Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education was 12 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
12
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
5th
of 214 countries
All-time high
12
in 2003
All-time low
8
in 1998
Years of data
28
1998–2025
Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Chile, 1998–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
The most recent figure for number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Chile is 12, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Chile peaked at 12 in 2003 and was at its lowest, 8, in 1998.
That places Chile 5th out of 214 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Chile, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 8 | — |
| 1999 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 12 | +50.0% |
| 2004 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 12 | +0.0% |
Chile compared with similar countries
- Chile's 12 is above the median for high income countries, which is 10, 1.2× the median. (76 countries reporting)
- Chile's 12 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 11, 1.1× the median. (40 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 8 | 8 | 8 | 2 |
| 2000s | 10.8 | 8 | 12 | 10 |
| 2010s | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 |
| 2020s | 12 | 12 | 12 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Chile
- 5 Anguilla 12 compare
- 5 United Arab Emirates 12 compare
- 5 Argentina 12 compare
- 5 Armenia 12 compare
- 5 Austria 12 compare
- 5 Belgium 12 compare
- 5 Bahamas 12 compare
- 5 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 12 compare
- 5 Brazil 12 compare
- 5 Cook Islands 12 compare
- 5 Curaçao 12 compare
- 5 Dominica 12 compare
- 5 Dominican Republic 12 compare
- 5 Ecuador 12 compare
- 5 Egypt 12 compare
- 5 Gibraltar 12 compare
- 5 Grenada 12 compare
- 5 Israel 12 compare
- 5 Italy 12 compare
- 5 Kenya 12 compare
- 5 Saint Kitts and Nevis 12 compare
- 5 Mexico 12 compare
- 5 Marshall Islands 12 compare
- 5 Mongolia 12 compare
- 5 Montserrat 12 compare
- 5 Mauritius 12 compare
- 5 Netherlands 12 compare
- 5 Naoero 12 compare
- 5 Pakistan 12 compare
- 5 Philippines 12 compare
- 5 Palau 12 compare
- 5 Puerto Rico 12 compare
- 5 Portugal 12 compare
- 5 Paraguay 12 compare
- 5 Qatar 12 compare
- 5 Turkmenistan 12 compare
- 5 Türkiye 12 compare
- 5 Uruguay 12 compare
- 5 United States of America 12 compare
- 5 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 12 compare
- 5 British Virgin Islands 12 compare
More education data for Chile
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 96,048 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 21,633 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 280,113 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 264,101 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.63 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.49 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.36 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0754 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Chile?
- Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Chile was 12 in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education recorded in Chile?
- The highest recorded value was 12 in 2003.
- What is the lowest number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education recorded in Chile?
- The lowest recorded value was 8 in 1998.
- How does Chile rank for number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education?
- Chile ranks 5th out of 214 countries with data for 2025.
- Is number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education rising or falling in Chile?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Chile data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education guaranteed in legal frameworks. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release