Official entrance age to compulsory education (years) (Official years) in China
China: Official entrance age to compulsory education (years) (Official years) was 6 years in 2019. ▼ Falling
Latest (2019)
6 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
24th
of 195 countries
All-time high
7 years
in 1998
All-time low
6 years
in 2004
Years of data
22
1998–2019
Official entrance age to compulsory education in China, 1998–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2019, official entrance age to compulsory education in China stood at 6 years. That is the lowest value across all 22 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, official entrance age to compulsory education in China peaked at 7 years in 1998 and was at its lowest, 6 years, in 2004.
That places China 24th out of 195 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Official entrance age to compulsory education (years) (Official years) in China, 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 | 6 years | -14.3% |
| 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% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 6 years is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 6 years, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- China's 6 years is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 6 years, 1.0× the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7 years | 7 years | 7 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 6.4 years | 6 years | 7 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 10 |
Countries ranked near China
- 24 Albania 6 years compare
- 24 Algeria 6 years compare
- 24 Andorra 6 years compare
- 24 Angola 6 years compare
- 24 Armenia 6 years compare
- 24 Australia 6 years compare
- 24 Bahrain 6 years compare
- 24 Bangladesh 6 years compare
- 24 Belarus 6 years compare
- 24 Belgium 6 years compare
- 24 Benin 6 years compare
- 24 Bosnia and Herzegovina 6 years compare
- 24 Brunei 6 years compare
- 24 Burkina Faso 6 years compare
- 24 Cape Verde 6 years compare
- 24 Cameroon 6 years compare
- 24 Canada 6 years compare
- 24 Central African Republic 6 years compare
- 24 Chad 6 years compare
- 24 Chile 6 years compare
- 24 Comoros 6 years compare
- 24 Democratic Republic of Congo 6 years compare
- 24 Congo 6 years compare
- 24 Cote d'Ivoire 6 years compare
- 24 Cuba 6 years compare
- 24 Czechia 6 years compare
- 24 Denmark 6 years compare
- 24 Djibouti 6 years compare
- 24 Egypt 6 years compare
- 24 Eritrea 6 years compare
- 24 Eswatini 6 years compare
- 24 Finland 6 years compare
- 24 Gabon 6 years compare
- 24 Georgia 6 years compare
- 24 Germany 6 years compare
- 24 Greenland 6 years compare
- 24 Guinea-Bissau 6 years compare
- 24 Guyana 6 years compare
- 24 Haiti 6 years compare
- 24 Hong Kong 6 years compare
- 24 Iceland 6 years compare
- 24 India 6 years compare
- 24 Iran 6 years compare
- 24 Iraq 6 years compare
- 24 Ireland 6 years compare
- 24 Italy 6 years compare
- 24 Jamaica 6 years compare
- 24 Japan 6 years compare
- 24 Jordan 6 years compare
- 24 Kazakhstan 6 years compare
- 24 Kenya 6 years compare
- 24 Kiribati 6 years compare
- 24 North Korea 6 years compare
- 24 South Korea 6 years compare
- 24 Kuwait 6 years compare
- 24 Kyrgyzstan 6 years compare
- 24 Laos 6 years compare
- 24 Lebanon 6 years compare
- 24 Lesotho 6 years compare
- 24 Liberia 6 years compare
- 24 Libya 6 years compare
- 24 Liechtenstein 6 years compare
- 24 Madagascar 6 years compare
- 24 Malawi 6 years compare
- 24 Malaysia 6 years compare
- 24 Maldives 6 years compare
- 24 Mauritania 6 years compare
- 24 Monaco 6 years compare
- 24 Mongolia 6 years compare
- 24 Montenegro 6 years compare
- 24 Morocco 6 years compare
- 24 New Zealand 6 years compare
- 24 Nigeria 6 years compare
- 24 North Macedonia 6 years compare
- 24 Norway 6 years compare
- 24 Oman 6 years compare
- 24 Palau 6 years compare
- 24 Poland 6 years compare
- 24 Portugal 6 years compare
- 24 Qatar 6 years compare
- 24 San Marino 6 years compare
- 24 Sao Tome and Principe 6 years compare
- 24 Saudi Arabia 6 years compare
- 24 Senegal 6 years compare
- 24 Seychelles 6 years compare
- 24 Sierra Leone 6 years compare
- 24 Singapore 6 years compare
- 24 Slovakia 6 years compare
- 24 Slovenia 6 years compare
- 24 South Sudan 6 years compare
- 24 Spain 6 years compare
- 24 Sudan 6 years compare
- 24 Sweden 6 years compare
- 24 Syria 6 years compare
- 24 Thailand 6 years compare
- 24 East Timor 6 years compare
- 24 Togo 6 years compare
- 24 Tunisia 6 years compare
- 24 Turkey 6 years compare
- 24 Turkmenistan 6 years compare
- 24 Tuvalu 6 years compare
- 24 Uganda 6 years compare
- 24 Ukraine 6 years compare
- 24 United Arab Emirates 6 years compare
- 24 United States 6 years compare
- 24 Palestine 6 years compare
- 24 Yemen 6 years compare
- 24 Zimbabwe 6 years compare
More education data for China
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.41 million (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 7,020 (2021)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 21.58 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 19.36 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 97.98 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 108.57 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9587 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0771 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is official entrance age to compulsory education in China?
- Official entrance age to compulsory education in China was 6 years in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 7 years in 1998.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 6 years in 2004.
- How does China rank for official entrance age to compulsory education?
- China ranks 24th out of 195 countries with data for 2019.
- Is official entrance age to compulsory education rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China 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
Official age when students should enter compulsory education assuming they start at the official entrance age for the lowest level of education, study full-time throughout and progressed through the system without repeating or skipping a grade. The theoretical entrance age to a given programme or level is typically, but not always, the most common entrance age.