Official entrance age to compulsory education in United States of America
United States of America: Official entrance age to compulsory education was 6 years in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
6 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
21st
of 200 countries
All-time high
6 years
in 1998
All-time low
6 years
in 1998
Years of data
28
1998–2025
Official entrance age to compulsory education in United States of America, 1998–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
United States of America recorded 6 years for official entrance age to compulsory education in 2025. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, official entrance age to compulsory education in United States of America peaked at 6 years in 1998 and was at its lowest, 6 years, in 1998.
United States of America ranks 21st of 200 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
Official entrance age to compulsory education in United States of America, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 6 years | — |
| 1999 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 6 years | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States of America
- 21 Albania 6 years compare
- 21 Andorra 6 years compare
- 21 United Arab Emirates 6 years compare
- 21 Armenia 6 years compare
- 21 Australia 6 years compare
- 21 Azerbaijan 6 years compare
- 21 Benin 6 years compare
- 21 Burkina Faso 6 years compare
- 21 Bangladesh 6 years compare
- 21 Bahrain 6 years compare
- 21 Bosnia and Herzegovina 6 years compare
- 21 Belarus 6 years compare
- 21 Brunei Darussalam 6 years compare
- 21 Central African Republic 6 years compare
- 21 Canada 6 years compare
- 21 Chile 6 years compare
- 21 China 6 years compare
- 21 Côte d'Ivoire 6 years compare
- 21 Cameroon 6 years compare
- 21 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 6 years compare
- 21 Congo 6 years compare
- 21 Comoros 6 years compare
- 21 Cape Verde 6 years compare
- 21 Cuba 6 years compare
- 21 Germany 6 years compare
- 21 Djibouti 6 years compare
- 21 Denmark 6 years compare
- 21 Algeria 6 years compare
- 21 Egypt 6 years compare
- 21 Eritrea 6 years compare
- 21 Spain 6 years compare
- 21 Finland 6 years compare
- 21 Micronesia, Federated States of 6 years compare
- 21 Gabon 6 years compare
- 21 Georgia 6 years compare
- 21 Guinea-Bissau 6 years compare
- 21 Guyana 6 years compare
- 21 Hong Kong 6 years compare
- 21 Haiti 6 years compare
- 21 India 6 years compare
- 21 Ireland 6 years compare
- 21 Iran, Islamic Republic of 6 years compare
- 21 Iraq 6 years compare
- 21 Iceland 6 years compare
- 21 Italy 6 years compare
- 21 Jamaica 6 years compare
- 21 Jordan 6 years compare
- 21 Japan 6 years compare
- 21 Kazakhstan 6 years compare
- 21 Kenya 6 years compare
- 21 Kyrgyzstan 6 years compare
- 21 Kiribati 6 years compare
- 21 Republic of Korea 6 years compare
- 21 Kuwait 6 years compare
- 21 Lao People's Democratic Republic 6 years compare
- 21 Lebanon 6 years compare
- 21 Liberia 6 years compare
- 21 Libya 6 years compare
- 21 Lesotho 6 years compare
- 21 Lithuania 6 years compare
- 21 Morocco 6 years compare
- 21 Monaco 6 years compare
- 21 Republic of Moldova 6 years compare
- 21 Madagascar 6 years compare
- 21 North Macedonia 6 years compare
- 21 Montenegro 6 years compare
- 21 Mongolia 6 years compare
- 21 Mauritania 6 years compare
- 21 Malawi 6 years compare
- 21 Malaysia 6 years compare
- 21 Nigeria 6 years compare
- 21 Norway 6 years compare
- 21 New Zealand 6 years compare
- 21 Oman 6 years compare
- 21 Palau 6 years compare
- 21 Poland 6 years compare
- 21 North Korea 6 years compare
- 21 Portugal 6 years compare
- 21 Palestine, State of 6 years compare
- 21 Qatar 6 years compare
- 21 Rwanda 6 years compare
- 21 Saudi Arabia 6 years compare
- 21 Sudan 6 years compare
- 21 Senegal 6 years compare
- 21 Singapore 6 years compare
- 21 Sierra Leone 6 years compare
- 21 San Marino 6 years compare
- 21 Somalia 6 years compare
- 21 South Sudan 6 years compare
- 21 Sao Tome and Principe 6 years compare
- 21 Slovenia 6 years compare
- 21 Sweden 6 years compare
- 21 Eswatini 6 years compare
- 21 Seychelles 6 years compare
- 21 Syria 6 years compare
- 21 Chad 6 years compare
- 21 Togo 6 years compare
- 21 Thailand 6 years compare
- 21 Turkmenistan 6 years compare
- 21 Timor-Leste 6 years compare
- 21 Tunisia 6 years compare
- 21 Türkiye 6 years compare
- 21 Tuvalu 6 years compare
- 21 Uganda 6 years compare
- 21 Ukraine 6 years compare
- 21 Yemen 6 years compare
- 21 Zimbabwe 6 years compare
More education data for United States of America
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 25.35 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 0.5778 % change on previous year (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 1.78 million (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 0.3162 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 12.29 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate -1.2 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 13.05 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 2.31 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 8.48 million (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 2.19 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is official entrance age to compulsory education in United States of America?
- Official entrance age to compulsory education in United States of America was 6 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in United States of America?
- The highest recorded value was 6 years in 1998.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in United States of America?
- The lowest recorded value was 6 years in 1998.
- How does United States of America rank for official entrance age to compulsory education?
- United States of America ranks 21st out of 200 countries with data for 2025.
- Is official entrance age to compulsory education rising or falling in United States of America?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this United States of America 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.
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release