Theoretical duration of lower secondary education in Poland
Poland: Theoretical duration of lower secondary education was 4 years in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
4 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
17th
of 215 countries
All-time high
4 years
in 2020
All-time low
2 years
in 1971
Years of data
56
1970–2025
Theoretical duration of lower secondary education in Poland, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for theoretical duration of lower secondary education in Poland is 4 years, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
That represents a change of up 33.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, theoretical duration of lower secondary education in Poland peaked at 4 years in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2 years, in 1971.
That places Poland 17th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
Theoretical duration of lower secondary education in Poland, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 3 years | — |
| 1971 | 2 years | -33.3% |
| 1972 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1979 | 2 years | -33.3% |
| 1980 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1989 | 2 years | -33.3% |
| 1990 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 2 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 2003 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 3 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 2021 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 4 years | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.2 years | 2 years | 3 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.1 years | 2 years | 3 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 2 years | 2 years | 2 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.8 years | 2 years | 3 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 3 years | 3 years | 3 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 4 years | 4 years | 4 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Poland
- 17 Albania 4 years compare
- 17 Andorra 4 years compare
- 17 United Arab Emirates 4 years compare
- 17 American Samoa 4 years compare
- 17 Australia 4 years compare
- 17 Austria 4 years compare
- 17 Benin 4 years compare
- 17 Burkina Faso 4 years compare
- 17 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 years compare
- 17 Belize 4 years compare
- 17 Brazil 4 years compare
- 17 Bhutan 4 years compare
- 17 Central African Republic 4 years compare
- 17 Côte d'Ivoire 4 years compare
- 17 Cameroon 4 years compare
- 17 Congo 4 years compare
- 17 Colombia 4 years compare
- 17 Comoros 4 years compare
- 17 Curaçao 4 years compare
- 17 Czechia 4 years compare
- 17 Djibouti 4 years compare
- 17 Algeria 4 years compare
- 17 Ethiopia 4 years compare
- 17 Fiji 4 years compare
- 17 France 4 years compare
- 17 Gabon 4 years compare
- 17 Guinea 4 years compare
- 17 Guadeloupe 4 years compare
- 17 Equatorial Guinea 4 years compare
- 17 French Guiana 4 years compare
- 17 Croatia 4 years compare
- 17 Hungary 4 years compare
- 17 Jordan 4 years compare
- 17 Kuwait 4 years compare
- 17 Lao People's Democratic Republic 4 years compare
- 17 Liechtenstein 4 years compare
- 17 Sri Lanka 4 years compare
- 17 Monaco 4 years compare
- 17 Madagascar 4 years compare
- 17 Maldives 4 years compare
- 17 North Macedonia 4 years compare
- 17 Myanmar 4 years compare
- 17 Montenegro 4 years compare
- 17 Mongolia 4 years compare
- 17 Mauritania 4 years compare
- 17 Martinique 4 years compare
- 17 Malawi 4 years compare
- 17 New Caledonia 4 years compare
- 17 Niger 4 years compare
- 17 Naoero 4 years compare
- 17 New Zealand 4 years compare
- 17 Philippines 4 years compare
- 17 Papua New Guinea 4 years compare
- 17 French Polynesia 4 years compare
- 17 Réunion 4 years compare
- 17 Romania 4 years compare
- 17 Senegal 4 years compare
- 17 Somalia 4 years compare
- 17 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 4 years compare
- 17 Serbia 4 years compare
- 17 Suriname 4 years compare
- 17 Chad 4 years compare
- 17 Togo 4 years compare
- 17 Tonga 4 years compare
- 17 Türkiye 4 years compare
- 17 Tuvalu 4 years compare
- 17 Tanzania, United Republic of 4 years compare
- 17 Uganda 4 years compare
- 17 Viet Nam 4 years compare
- 17 Vanuatu 4 years compare
More education data for Poland
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,023 tertiary education (2024)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 135,357 (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 4 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 64.8% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 14.5% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 11 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is theoretical duration of lower secondary education in Poland?
- Theoretical duration of lower secondary education in Poland was 4 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest theoretical duration of lower secondary education recorded in Poland?
- The highest recorded value was 4 years in 2020.
- What is the lowest theoretical duration of lower secondary education recorded in Poland?
- The lowest recorded value was 2 years in 1971.
- How does Poland rank for theoretical duration of lower secondary education?
- Poland ranks 17th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is theoretical duration of lower secondary education rising or falling in Poland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 33.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Poland data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Theoretical duration of lower secondary education (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release