Official entrance age to compulsory education in Germany

Germany: Official entrance age to compulsory education was 6 in 2025. ▬ Flat

Latest (2025)
6
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
9th
of 73 countries
All-time high
6
in 1998
All-time low
6
in 1998
Years of data
28
1998–2025

Official entrance age to compulsory education in Germany, 1998–2025

02461998201120251998: 61999: 62000: 62001: 62002: 62003: 62004: 62005: 62006: 62007: 62008: 62009: 62010: 62011: 62012: 62013: 62014: 62015: 62016: 62017: 62018: 62019: 62020: 62021: 62022: 62023: 62024: 62025: 6

Source: UNICEF.

Analysis

In 2025, official entrance age to compulsory education in Germany stood at 6. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.

The figure is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, official entrance age to compulsory education in Germany peaked at 6 in 1998 and was at its lowest, 6, in 1998.

Germany ranks 9th of 73 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 6 6 6 2
2000s 6 6 6 10
2010s 6 6 6 10
2020s 6 6 6 6

Countries ranked near Germany

  1. 9 Jordan 6 compare
  2. 9 Yemen 6 compare
  3. 9 Oman 6 compare
  4. 9 Syrian Arab Republic 6 compare
  5. 9 Armenia 6 compare
  6. 9 Montenegro 6 compare
  7. 9 Denmark 6 compare
  8. 9 Iran 6 compare
  9. 9 Georgia 6 compare
  10. 9 Morocco 6 compare
  11. 9 Azerbaijan 6 compare
  12. 9 Ukraine 6 compare
  13. 9 Libya 6 compare
  14. 9 Bahrain 6 compare
  15. 9 Sudan 6 compare
  16. 9 Finland 6 compare
  17. 9 Palestine, State of 6 compare
  18. 9 Kyrgyzstan 6 compare
  19. 9 Norway 6 compare
  20. 9 Egypt 6 compare
  21. 9 Iraq 6 compare
  22. 9 Belarus 6 compare
  23. 9 Türkiye 6 compare
  24. 9 Iceland 6 compare
  25. 9 Slovenia 6 compare
  26. 9 Monaco 6 compare
  27. 9 Djibouti 6 compare
  28. 9 Albania 6 compare
  29. 9 San Marino 6 compare
  30. 9 Poland 6 compare
  31. 9 Bosnia and Herzegovina 6 compare
  32. 9 Kuwait 6 compare
  33. 9 Portugal 6 compare
  34. 9 Spain 6 compare
  35. 9 North Macedonia 6 compare
  36. 9 Italy 6 compare
  37. 9 Moldova 6 compare
  38. 9 Tunisia 6 compare
  39. 9 United Arab Emirates 6 compare
  40. 9 Sweden 6 compare
  41. 9 Andorra 6 compare
  42. 9 Ireland 6 compare
  43. 9 Algeria 6 compare
  44. 9 Lithuania 6 compare
  45. 9 Saudi Arabia 6 compare
  46. 9 Lebanon 6 compare
  47. 9 Turkmenistan 6 compare
  48. 9 Qatar 6 compare
  49. 9 Kazakhstan 6 compare

See the full ranking of 73 places →

More education data for Germany

All data for Germany →

Frequently asked questions

What is official entrance age to compulsory education in Germany?
Official entrance age to compulsory education in Germany was 6 in 2025, according to UNICEF.
What is the highest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in Germany?
The highest recorded value was 6 in 1998.
What is the lowest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in Germany?
The lowest recorded value was 6 in 1998.
How does Germany rank for official entrance age to compulsory education?
Germany ranks 9th out of 73 countries with data for 2025.
Is official entrance age to compulsory education rising or falling in Germany?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Germany 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.

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Official entrance age to compulsory education in Germany. Statizoid, drawing on UNICEF. Retrieved 22 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/official-entrance-age-to-compulsory-education-2/germany/

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About this data

Indicator
Official entrance age to compulsory education
Source
UNICEF
Licence
UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
73 places, 1,969 data points, 1997–2025
Last refreshed