Official entrance age to compulsory education in India
India: Official entrance age to compulsory education was 6 years in 2019. ▬ Flat
Latest (2019)
6 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
24th
of 195 countries
All-time high
6 years
in 2009
All-time low
6 years
in 2009
Years of data
11
2009–2019
Official entrance age to compulsory education in India, 2009–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
India recorded 6 years for official entrance age to compulsory education in 2019. That is the highest value across all 11 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, official entrance age to compulsory education in India peaked at 6 years in 2009 and was at its lowest, 6 years, in 2009.
India ranks 24th of 195 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
Official entrance age to compulsory education in India, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 6 years | — |
| 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% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 1 |
| 2010s | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 10 |
Countries ranked near India
- 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 Darussalam 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 China 6 years compare
- 24 Comoros 6 years compare
- 24 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 6 years compare
- 24 Congo 6 years compare
- 24 Côte 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, China 6 years compare
- 24 Iceland 6 years compare
- 24 Iran, Islamic Republic of 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 Korea, Democratic People's Republic of 6 years compare
- 24 Republic of Korea 6 years compare
- 24 Kuwait 6 years compare
- 24 Kyrgyzstan 6 years compare
- 24 Lao People's Democratic Republic 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 Syrian Arab Republic 6 years compare
- 24 Thailand 6 years compare
- 24 Timor-Leste 6 years compare
- 24 Togo 6 years compare
- 24 Tunisia 6 years compare
- 24 Türkiye 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 of America 6 years compare
- 24 Palestine, State of 6 years compare
- 24 Yemen 6 years compare
- 24 Zimbabwe 6 years compare
More education data for India
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 5.19 million (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 68.4% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 24.2% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 11 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 111.03 (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 111.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is official entrance age to compulsory education in India?
- Official entrance age to compulsory education in India was 6 years in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 6 years in 2009.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 6 years in 2009.
- How does India rank for official entrance age to compulsory education?
- India ranks 24th out of 195 countries with data for 2019.
- Is official entrance age to compulsory education rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this India 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.