How does Ethiopia rank for official entrance age to upper secondary education?

Ethiopia ranks 2nd out of 209 countries with data for 2020.

Is official entrance age to upper secondary education rising or falling in Ethiopia?

Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Ethiopia data come from?

The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Official entrance age to upper secondary education (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Official entrance age to upper secondary education in Ethiopia

Name: Official entrance age to upper secondary education in Ethiopia
Creator: UNESCO Institute for Statistics
License: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)

Ethiopia: Official entrance age to upper secondary education was 17 years in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)

17 years

Change on year

unchanged

World rank

2nd

of 209 countries

All-time high

17 years

in 1998

All-time low

15 years

in 1970

Years of data

1970–2020

Official entrance age to upper secondary education in Ethiopia, 1970–2020

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.

Analysis

Ethiopia recorded 17 years for official entrance age to upper secondary education in 2020. That is the highest value across all 51 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, official entrance age to upper secondary education in Ethiopia peaked at 17 years in 1998 and was at its lowest, 15 years, in 1970.

That places Ethiopia 2nd out of 209 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 51 years of available data.

Official entrance age to upper secondary education in Ethiopia, year by year

Annual values for Official entrance age to upper secondary education (years) in Ethiopia, 1970 to 2020.
Year	years	Change
1970	15 years	—
1971	15 years	+0.0%
1972	15 years	+0.0%
1973	15 years	+0.0%
1974	15 years	+0.0%
1975	15 years	+0.0%
1976	15 years	+0.0%
1977	15 years	+0.0%
1978	15 years	+0.0%
1979	15 years	+0.0%
1980	15 years	+0.0%
1981	15 years	+0.0%
1982	15 years	+0.0%
1983	15 years	+0.0%
1984	15 years	+0.0%
1985	15 years	+0.0%
1986	15 years	+0.0%
1987	15 years	+0.0%
1988	15 years	+0.0%
1989	15 years	+0.0%
1990	15 years	+0.0%
1991	15 years	+0.0%
1992	15 years	+0.0%
1993	15 years	+0.0%
1994	15 years	+0.0%
1995	15 years	+0.0%
1996	15 years	+0.0%
1997	15 years	+0.0%
1998	17 years	+13.3%
1999	17 years	+0.0%
2000	17 years	+0.0%
2001	17 years	+0.0%
2002	17 years	+0.0%
2003	17 years	+0.0%
2004	17 years	+0.0%
2005	17 years	+0.0%
2006	17 years	+0.0%
2007	17 years	+0.0%
2008	17 years	+0.0%
2009	17 years	+0.0%
2010	17 years	+0.0%
2011	17 years	+0.0%
2012	17 years	+0.0%
2013	17 years	+0.0%
2014	17 years	+0.0%
2015	17 years	+0.0%
2016	17 years	+0.0%
2017	17 years	+0.0%
2018	17 years	+0.0%
2019	17 years	+0.0%
2020	17 years	+0.0%

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1970s	15 years	15 years	15 years	10
1980s	15 years	15 years	15 years	10
1990s	15.4 years	15 years	17 years	10
2000s	17 years	17 years	17 years	10
2010s	17 years	17 years	17 years	10
2020s	17 years	17 years	17 years	1

Countries ranked near Ethiopia

1 Tanzania, United Republic of 18 years compare
2 Bhutan 17 years compare
2 Burundi 17 years compare
2 Equatorial Guinea 17 years compare
2 Guinea 17 years compare
2 Lithuania 17 years compare
2 Namibia 17 years compare
2 Niger 17 years compare
2 Tonga 17 years compare
2 Uganda 17 years compare

See the full ranking of 209 places →

More education data for Ethiopia

Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 9.64 % change on previous year (2012)
Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 151,765 (2024)
Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 186,951 (2024)
Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 173,906 (2014)
Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 14.17 % change on previous year (2012)
Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 413,109 (2014)
Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) 7.68 % change on previous year (2012)
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)

All data for Ethiopia →

Frequently asked questions

What is official entrance age to upper secondary education in Ethiopia?: Official entrance age to upper secondary education in Ethiopia was 17 years in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest official entrance age to upper secondary education recorded in Ethiopia?: The highest recorded value was 17 years in 1998.
What is the lowest official entrance age to upper secondary education recorded in Ethiopia?: The lowest recorded value was 15 years in 1970.
How does Ethiopia rank for official entrance age to upper secondary education?: Ethiopia ranks 2nd out of 209 countries with data for 2020.
Is official entrance age to upper secondary education rising or falling in Ethiopia?: Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Ethiopia data come from?: The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Official entrance age to upper secondary education (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 51 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Official entrance age to upper secondary education in Ethiopia. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 30 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/official-entrance-age-to-upper-secondary-education-years/ethiopia/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/official-entrance-age-to-upper-secondary-education-years/ethiopia/">Official entrance age to upper secondary education in Ethiopia</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Official entrance age to upper secondary education (years)
Unit: years
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 209 places, 10,366 data points, 1970–2020
Last refreshed: 21 August 2026

Age at which students would enter upper secondary education, assuming they had started at the official entrance age for the lowest level of education, had studied full-time throughout and had progressed through the system without repeating or skipping a grade.