Official entrance age to lower secondary education in Switzerland
Switzerland: Official entrance age to lower secondary education was 12 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
12
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
9th
of 73 countries
All-time high
13
in 1970
All-time low
12
in 2015
Years of data
56
1970–2025
Official entrance age to lower secondary education in Switzerland, 1970–2025
Source: UNICEF.
Analysis
In 2025, official entrance age to lower secondary education in Switzerland stood at 12. That is the lowest value across all 56 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, official entrance age to lower secondary education in Switzerland peaked at 13 in 1970 and was at its lowest, 12, in 2015.
That places Switzerland 9th out of 73 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 56 years of available data.
Official entrance age to lower secondary education in Switzerland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 13 | — |
| 1971 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 12 | -7.7% |
| 2016 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 12 | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 13 | 13 | 13 | 10 |
| 1980s | 13 | 13 | 13 | 10 |
| 1990s | 13 | 13 | 13 | 10 |
| 2000s | 13 | 13 | 13 | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.5 | 12 | 13 | 10 |
| 2020s | 12 | 12 | 12 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Switzerland
- 9 Egypt 12 compare
- 9 Iraq 12 compare
- 9 Slovenia 12 compare
- 9 Liechtenstein 12 compare
- 9 Tunisia 12 compare
- 9 Portugal 12 compare
- 9 Belgium 12 compare
- 9 Spain 12 compare
- 9 Andorra 12 compare
- 9 Cyprus 12 compare
- 9 Saudi Arabia 12 compare
- 9 Greece 12 compare
- 9 Lebanon 12 compare
- 9 Qatar 12 compare
- 9 Yemen 12 compare
- 9 Netherlands 12 compare
- 9 Jordan 12 compare
- 9 Syria 12 compare
- 9 Iran 12 compare
- 9 Morocco 12 compare
- 9 Georgia 12 compare
- 9 Luxembourg 12 compare
- 9 Libya 12 compare
- 9 Bahrain 12 compare
- 9 Sudan 12 compare
More education data for Switzerland
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 0.488 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 48,721 (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 9,628 (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 173,465 (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 0.7668 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 163,838 (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) 0.1945 % change on previous year (2024)
- Theoretical duration of primary education (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is official entrance age to lower secondary education in Switzerland?
- Official entrance age to lower secondary education in Switzerland was 12 in 2025, according to UNICEF.
- What is the highest official entrance age to lower secondary education recorded in Switzerland?
- The highest recorded value was 13 in 1970.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to lower secondary education recorded in Switzerland?
- The lowest recorded value was 12 in 2015.
- How does Switzerland rank for official entrance age to lower secondary education?
- Switzerland ranks 9th out of 73 countries with data for 2025.
- Is official entrance age to lower secondary education rising or falling in Switzerland?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Switzerland data come from?
- The figures come from UNICEF, published as part of Official entrance age to lower secondary education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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