Official entrance age to compulsory education in Finland
Finland: Official entrance age to compulsory education was 6 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
6
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
9th
of 73 countries
All-time high
7
in 1998
All-time low
6
in 2016
Years of data
28
1998–2025
Official entrance age to compulsory education in Finland, 1998–2025
Source: UNICEF.
Analysis
In 2025, official entrance age to compulsory education in Finland stood at 6. That is the lowest value across all 28 years on record.
The figure is down 14.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, official entrance age to compulsory education in Finland peaked at 7 in 1998 and was at its lowest, 6, in 2016.
Finland ranks 9th of 73 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 28 years of available data.
Official entrance age to compulsory education in Finland, 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 | 6 | -14.3% |
| 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% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 2 |
| 2000s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.6 | 6 | 7 | 10 |
| 2020s | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Finland
- 9 Jordan 6 compare
- 9 Yemen 6 compare
- 9 Oman 6 compare
- 9 Syrian Arab Republic 6 compare
- 9 Armenia 6 compare
- 9 Montenegro 6 compare
- 9 Denmark 6 compare
- 9 Iran, Islamic Republic of 6 compare
- 9 Georgia 6 compare
- 9 Morocco 6 compare
- 9 Azerbaijan 6 compare
- 9 Ukraine 6 compare
- 9 Libya 6 compare
- 9 Bahrain 6 compare
- 9 Sudan 6 compare
- 9 Palestine, State of 6 compare
- 9 Kyrgyzstan 6 compare
- 9 Norway 6 compare
- 9 Egypt 6 compare
- 9 Iraq 6 compare
- 9 Belarus 6 compare
- 9 Türkiye 6 compare
- 9 Iceland 6 compare
- 9 Slovenia 6 compare
- 9 Monaco 6 compare
- 9 Djibouti 6 compare
- 9 Albania 6 compare
- 9 San Marino 6 compare
- 9 Poland 6 compare
- 9 Bosnia and Herzegovina 6 compare
- 9 Kuwait 6 compare
- 9 Portugal 6 compare
- 9 Spain 6 compare
- 9 North Macedonia 6 compare
- 9 Italy 6 compare
- 9 Republic of Moldova 6 compare
- 9 Tunisia 6 compare
- 9 United Arab Emirates 6 compare
- 9 Sweden 6 compare
- 9 Andorra 6 compare
- 9 Ireland 6 compare
- 9 Algeria 6 compare
- 9 Lithuania 6 compare
- 9 Saudi Arabia 6 compare
- 9 Germany 6 compare
- 9 Lebanon 6 compare
- 9 Turkmenistan 6 compare
- 9 Qatar 6 compare
- 9 Kazakhstan 6 compare
More education data for Finland
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 30,824 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 4 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 61.5% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 14.3% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 98.87 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary 98.9% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is official entrance age to compulsory education in Finland?
- Official entrance age to compulsory education in Finland was 6 in 2025, according to UNICEF.
- What is the highest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in Finland?
- The highest recorded value was 7 in 1998.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in Finland?
- The lowest recorded value was 6 in 2016.
- How does Finland rank for official entrance age to compulsory education?
- Finland ranks 9th out of 73 countries with data for 2025.
- Is official entrance age to compulsory education rising or falling in Finland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Finland data come from?
- The figures come from UNICEF, published as part of Official entrance age to compulsory education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required).