Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Poland
Poland: Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education was 8 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
8
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
159th
of 214 countries
All-time high
9
in 2000
All-time low
8
in 2020
Years of data
26
2000–2025
Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Poland, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
In 2025, number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Poland stood at 8. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of down 11.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Poland peaked at 9 in 2000 and was at its lowest, 8, in 2020.
That places Poland 159th out of 214 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Poland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 9 | — |
| 2001 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 8 | -11.1% |
| 2021 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 8 | +0.0% |
Poland compared with similar countries
- Poland's 8 is below the median for high income countries, which is 10, 80% of the median. (76 countries reporting)
- Poland's 8 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 10, 80% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| 2010s | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| 2020s | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Poland
- 159 Belize 8 compare
- 159 Eritrea 8 compare
- 159 Ethiopia 8 compare
- 159 Micronesia, Federated States of 8 compare
- 159 Croatia 8 compare
- 159 India 8 compare
- 159 Malawi 8 compare
- 159 Nepal 8 compare
- 159 Sudan 8 compare
- 159 Somalia 8 compare
- 159 Serbia 8 compare
- 159 South Sudan 8 compare
- 159 Samoa 8 compare
More education data for Poland
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 322,900 (2025)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 15,398 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 776,213 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 735,804 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.33 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.60 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.04 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0438 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Poland?
- Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Poland was 8 in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education recorded in Poland?
- The highest recorded value was 9 in 2000.
- What is the lowest number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education recorded in Poland?
- The lowest recorded value was 8 in 2020.
- How does Poland rank for number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education?
- Poland ranks 159th out of 214 countries with data for 2025.
- Is number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education rising or falling in Poland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Poland 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.
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CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release