Official entrance age to compulsory education in Hong Kong
Hong Kong: Official entrance age to compulsory education was 6 years in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
6 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
21st
of 205 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 Hong Kong, 1998–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Hong Kong recorded 6 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 Hong Kong peaked at 6 years in 1998 and was at its lowest, 6 years, in 1998.
That places Hong Kong 21st out of 205 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
Official entrance age to compulsory education in Hong Kong, 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 Hong Kong
- 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
- 21 Brunei Darussalam 6 years compare
- 21 Burkina Faso 6 years compare
- 21 Cameroon 6 years compare
- 21 Canada 6 years compare
- 21 Cape Verde 6 years compare
- 21 Central African Republic 6 years compare
- 21 Chad 6 years compare
- 21 Chile 6 years compare
- 21 China 6 years compare
- 21 Comoros 6 years compare
- 21 Congo 6 years compare
- 21 Cote d'Ivoire 6 years compare
- 21 Cuba 6 years compare
- 21 Democratic Republic of Congo 6 years compare
- 21 Denmark 6 years compare
- 21 Djibouti 6 years compare
- 21 Timor-Leste 6 years compare
- 21 Egypt 6 years compare
- 21 Eritrea 6 years compare
- 21 Eswatini 6 years compare
- 21 Finland 6 years compare
- 21 Gabon 6 years compare
- 21 Georgia 6 years compare
- 21 Germany 6 years compare
- 21 Guinea-Bissau 6 years compare
- 21 Guyana 6 years compare
- 21 Haiti 6 years compare
- 21 Iceland 6 years compare
- 21 India 6 years compare
- 21 Iran, Islamic Republic of 6 years compare
- 21 Iraq 6 years compare
- 21 Ireland 6 years compare
- 21 Italy 6 years compare
- 21 Jamaica 6 years compare
- 21 Japan 6 years compare
- 21 Jordan 6 years compare
- 21 Kazakhstan 6 years compare
- 21 Kenya 6 years compare
- 21 Kiribati 6 years compare
- 21 Kuwait 6 years compare
- 21 Kyrgyzstan 6 years compare
- 21 Lao People's Democratic Republic 6 years compare
- 21 Lebanon 6 years compare
- 21 Lesotho 6 years compare
- 21 Liberia 6 years compare
- 21 Libya 6 years compare
- 21 Lithuania 6 years compare
- 21 Madagascar 6 years compare
- 21 Malawi 6 years compare
- 21 Malaysia 6 years compare
- 21 Mauritania 6 years compare
- 21 Micronesia (country) 6 years compare
- 21 Moldova 6 years compare
- 21 Monaco 6 years compare
- 21 Mongolia 6 years compare
- 21 Montenegro 6 years compare
- 21 Morocco 6 years compare
- 21 New Zealand 6 years compare
- 21 Nigeria 6 years compare
- 21 North Korea 6 years compare
- 21 North Macedonia 6 years compare
- 21 Norway 6 years compare
- 21 Oman 6 years compare
- 21 Palau 6 years compare
- 21 Palestine 6 years compare
- 21 Poland 6 years compare
- 21 Portugal 6 years compare
- 21 Qatar 6 years compare
- 21 Rwanda 6 years compare
- 21 San Marino 6 years compare
- 21 Sao Tome and Principe 6 years compare
- 21 Saudi Arabia 6 years compare
- 21 Senegal 6 years compare
- 21 Seychelles 6 years compare
- 21 Sierra Leone 6 years compare
- 21 Singapore 6 years compare
- 21 Slovenia 6 years compare
- 21 Somalia 6 years compare
- 21 South Korea 6 years compare
- 21 South Sudan 6 years compare
- 21 Spain 6 years compare
- 21 Sudan 6 years compare
- 21 Sweden 6 years compare
- 21 Syria 6 years compare
- 21 Thailand 6 years compare
- 21 Togo 6 years compare
- 21 Tunisia 6 years compare
- 21 Turkey 6 years compare
- 21 Turkmenistan 6 years compare
- 21 Tuvalu 6 years compare
- 21 Uganda 6 years compare
- 21 Ukraine 6 years compare
- 21 United Arab Emirates 6 years compare
- 21 United States 6 years compare
- 21 Yemen 6 years compare
- 21 Zimbabwe 6 years compare
More education data for Hong Kong
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 329,780 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.3 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0438 units per person (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 329,780 (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth -2.3 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), per capita 0.0438 units per person (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 158,048 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is official entrance age to compulsory education in Hong Kong?
- Official entrance age to compulsory education in Hong Kong 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 Hong Kong?
- The highest recorded value was 6 years in 1998.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in Hong Kong?
- The lowest recorded value was 6 years in 1998.
- How does Hong Kong rank for official entrance age to compulsory education?
- Hong Kong ranks 21st out of 205 countries with data for 2025.
- Is official entrance age to compulsory education rising or falling in Hong Kong?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Hong Kong 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.
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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.