Official entrance age to compulsory education in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Official entrance age to compulsory education was 5 years in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
5 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
129th
of 200 countries
All-time high
5 years
in 1998
All-time low
5 years
in 1998
Years of data
28
1998–2025
Official entrance age to compulsory education in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1998–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland recorded 5 years for official entrance age to compulsory education in 2025. 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 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland peaked at 5 years in 1998 and was at its lowest, 5 years, in 1998.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 129th of 200 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Official entrance age to compulsory education in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 5 years | — |
| 1999 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 5 years | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- 129 Angola 5 years compare
- 129 Antigua and Barbuda 5 years compare
- 129 Austria 5 years compare
- 129 Belgium 5 years compare
- 129 Bahamas 5 years compare
- 129 Belize 5 years compare
- 129 Bermuda 5 years compare
- 129 Barbados 5 years compare
- 129 Colombia 5 years compare
- 129 Cyprus 5 years compare
- 129 Czechia 5 years compare
- 129 Dominica 5 years compare
- 129 Greece 5 years compare
- 129 Grenada 5 years compare
- 129 Honduras 5 years compare
- 129 Saint Kitts and Nevis 5 years compare
- 129 Saint Lucia 5 years compare
- 129 Sri Lanka 5 years compare
- 129 Latvia 5 years compare
- 129 Macao 5 years compare
- 129 Marshall Islands 5 years compare
- 129 Malta 5 years compare
- 129 Myanmar 5 years compare
- 129 Mauritius 5 years compare
- 129 Nicaragua 5 years compare
- 129 Netherlands 5 years compare
- 129 Pakistan 5 years compare
- 129 Philippines 5 years compare
- 129 Puerto Rico 5 years compare
- 129 Paraguay 5 years compare
- 129 Slovakia 5 years compare
- 129 Trinidad and Tobago 5 years compare
- 129 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 5 years compare
- 129 British Virgin Islands 5 years compare
- 129 Viet Nam 5 years compare
- 129 Samoa 5 years compare
More education data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 6.40 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 1.49 % change on previous year (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 281,128 (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate -0.4388 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 3.16 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 1.19 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 3.24 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.79 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 1.62 million (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual -0.929 % change on previous year (2023)
All data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland →
Frequently asked questions
- What is official entrance age to compulsory education in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- Official entrance age to compulsory education in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was 5 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 5 years in 1998.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 5 years in 1998.
- How does United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland rank for official entrance age to compulsory education?
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 129th out of 200 countries with data for 2025.
- Is official entrance age to compulsory education rising or falling in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Official entrance age to compulsory education (years). 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