Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education was 7 in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
7
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
173rd
of 214 countries
All-time high
7
in 1998
All-time low
7
in 1998
Years of data
28
1998–2025
Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Zimbabwe, 1998–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Zimbabwe recorded 7 for number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education 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 Zimbabwe peaked at 7 in 1998 and was at its lowest, 7, in 1998.
That places Zimbabwe 173rd out of 214 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 7 | — |
| 1999 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 7 | +0.0% |
Zimbabwe compared with similar countries
- Zimbabwe's 7 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 9, 78% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zimbabwe's 7 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 8, 88% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 2 |
| 2000s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| 2010s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| 2020s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
More education data for Zimbabwe
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 42,585 (2013)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 12,514 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 328,055 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 322,698 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 957,461 (2013)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.94 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.4866 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1767 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Zimbabwe?
- Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in Zimbabwe was 7 in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 7 in 1998.
- What is the lowest number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 7 in 1998.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education?
- Zimbabwe ranks 173rd out of 214 countries with data for 2025.
- Is number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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