Official entrance age to compulsory education in Denmark
Denmark: Official entrance age to compulsory education was 6 years in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
6 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
21st
of 205 countries
All-time high
7 years
in 1998
All-time low
6 years
in 2010
Years of data
28
1998–2025
Official entrance age to compulsory education in Denmark, 1998–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Denmark recorded 6 years for official entrance age to compulsory education in 2025. That is the lowest 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 Denmark peaked at 7 years in 1998 and was at its lowest, 6 years, in 2010.
Denmark ranks 21st of 205 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 28 years of available data.
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 | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Denmark
- 21 Albania 6 years compare
- 21 Algeria 6 years compare
- 21 Andorra 6 years compare
- 21 Armenia 6 years compare
- 21 Australia 6 years compare
- 21 Azerbaijan 6 years compare
- 21 Bahrain 6 years compare
- 21 Bangladesh 6 years compare
- 21 Belarus 6 years compare
- 21 Benin 6 years compare
- 21 Bosnia and Herzegovina 6 years compare
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- 21 Democratic Republic of Congo 6 years compare
- 21 Djibouti 6 years compare
- 21 East Timor 6 years compare
- 21 Egypt 6 years compare
- 21 Eritrea 6 years compare
- 21 Eswatini 6 years compare
- 21 Finland 6 years compare
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- 21 Guinea-Bissau 6 years compare
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More education data for Denmark
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 63.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 15.6% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 99.8% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 42,105 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.52 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 99.6% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is official entrance age to compulsory education in Denmark?
- Official entrance age to compulsory education in Denmark was 6 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in Denmark?
- The highest recorded value was 7 years in 1998.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in Denmark?
- The lowest recorded value was 6 years in 2010.
- How does Denmark rank for official entrance age to compulsory education?
- Denmark ranks 21st out of 205 countries with data for 2025.
- Is official entrance age to compulsory education rising or falling in Denmark?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Denmark data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Official entrance age to compulsory education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
The official age for entering compulsory education is based on students starting at the earliest entrance age, studying full-time, and advancing without grade repetition or skipping.