How does Jamaica rank for number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education?

Jamaica ranks 181st out of 214 countries with data for 2025.

Is number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education rising or falling in Jamaica?

Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.

Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Jamaica

Name: Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Jamaica
Creator: UNESCO Institute for Statistics
License: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)

Jamaica: Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education was 6 in 2025. ▬ Flat

Latest (2025)

Change on year

unchanged

World rank

181st

of 214 countries

All-time high

in 1998

All-time low

in 1998

Years of data

1998–2025

Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Jamaica, 1998–2025

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Analysis

Jamaica recorded 6 for number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in 2025. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Jamaica peaked at 6 in 1998 and was at its lowest, 6, in 1998.

That places Jamaica 181st out of 214 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.

Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Jamaica, year by year

Annual values for Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education guaranteed in legal frameworks in Jamaica, 1998 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1998	6	—
1999	6	+0.0%
2000	6	+0.0%
2001	6	+0.0%
2002	6	+0.0%
2003	6	+0.0%
2004	6	+0.0%
2005	6	+0.0%
2006	6	+0.0%
2007	6	+0.0%
2008	6	+0.0%
2009	6	+0.0%
2010	6	+0.0%
2011	6	+0.0%
2012	6	+0.0%
2013	6	+0.0%
2014	6	+0.0%
2015	6	+0.0%
2016	6	+0.0%
2017	6	+0.0%
2018	6	+0.0%
2019	6	+0.0%
2020	6	+0.0%
2021	6	+0.0%
2022	6	+0.0%
2023	6	+0.0%
2024	6	+0.0%
2025	6	+0.0%

Jamaica compared with similar countries

Jamaica's 6 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 9.5, 63% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
Jamaica's 6 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 11, 55% of the median. (40 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1990s	6	6	6	2
2000s	6	6	6	10
2010s	6	6	6	10
2020s	6	6	6	6

Countries ranked near Jamaica

181 Benin 6 compare
181 Cameroon 6 compare
181 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 6 compare
181 Comoros 6 compare
181 Guinea 6 compare
181 Equatorial Guinea 6 compare
181 Guyana 6 compare
181 Haiti 6 compare
181 Iraq 6 compare
181 Liberia 6 compare
181 Malaysia 6 compare
181 Nicaragua 6 compare
181 Rwanda 6 compare
181 Singapore 6 compare
181 Sao Tome and Principe 6 compare
181 Suriname 6 compare

See the full ranking of 214 places →

More education data for Jamaica

Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 11,043 (2024)
Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 4,597 (2024)
Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 52,983 (2024)
Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 51,265 (2024)
Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 177,095 (2024)
Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 211,097 (2024)
Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 8.14 % change on previous year (2024)
Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0744 units per person (2024)

All data for Jamaica →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Jamaica?: Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Jamaica was 6 in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education recorded in Jamaica?: The highest recorded value was 6 in 1998.
What is the lowest number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education recorded in Jamaica?: The lowest recorded value was 6 in 1998.
How does Jamaica rank for number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education?: Jamaica ranks 181st out of 214 countries with data for 2025.
Is number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education rising or falling in Jamaica?: Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Jamaica 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).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Jamaica. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 16 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/number-of-years-of-compulsory-primary-and-secondary-education-guaranteed-in-legal-2/jamaica/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/number-of-years-of-compulsory-primary-and-secondary-education-guaranteed-in-legal-2/jamaica/">Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Jamaica</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education guaranteed in legal frameworks
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage: 214 places, 5,894 data points, 1975–2025
Last refreshed: 06 September 2026

February 2026 Data Release