Official entrance age to compulsory education in Zambia
Zambia: Official entrance age to compulsory education was 7 years in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
7 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
1st
of 200 countries
All-time high
7 years
in 1998
All-time low
7 years
in 1998
Years of data
28
1998–2025
Official entrance age to compulsory education in Zambia, 1998–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Zambia recorded 7 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 Zambia peaked at 7 years in 1998 and was at its lowest, 7 years, in 1998.
That places Zambia 1st out of 200 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
Official entrance age to compulsory education in Zambia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 7 years | — |
| 1999 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 7 years | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7 years | 7 years | 7 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 7 years | 7 years | 7 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 7 years | 7 years | 7 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 7 years | 7 years | 7 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 1 Afghanistan 7 years compare
- 1 Anguilla 5 years compare
- 1 Cook Islands 5 years compare
- 1 Estonia 7 years compare
- 1 Ethiopia 7 years compare
- 1 Guinea 7 years compare
- 1 Gambia 7 years compare
- 1 Equatorial Guinea 7 years compare
- 1 Croatia 7 years compare
- 1 Indonesia 7 years compare
- 1 Liechtenstein 7 years compare
- 1 Mali 7 years compare
- 1 Montserrat 5 years compare
- 1 Namibia 7 years compare
- 1 Niue 5 years compare
- 1 Romania 7 years compare
- 1 Russia 7 years compare
- 1 Serbia 7 years compare
- 1 Suriname 7 years compare
- 1 Tajikistan 7 years compare
- 1 Tokelau 5 years compare
- 1 Tanzania 7 years compare
- 1 Uzbekistan 7 years compare
- 1 South Africa 7 years compare
More education data for Zambia
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of lower secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,022 tertiary education (2022)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0497 % change on previous year (2014)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 116,859 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 4 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is official entrance age to compulsory education in Zambia?
- Official entrance age to compulsory education in Zambia was 7 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 7 years in 1998.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 7 years in 1998.
- How does Zambia rank for official entrance age to compulsory education?
- Zambia ranks 1st out of 200 countries with data for 2025.
- Is official entrance age to compulsory education rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Zambia 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