Burkina Faso: Lower secondary school starting age (years)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Burkina Faso's lower secondary school starting age (years) did not change 0 on 2024 (from 12 to 12).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.03 and a typical year strayed about 0.18 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly fall was 1 in 2010. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains less than 1% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2025, Burkina Faso had the 30th highest value of the 209 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Burkina Faso in the 2025 ranking

• Bolivia — 41st of 209: 12
• British Virgin Islands — 42nd of 209: 12
• Brunei Darussalam — 43rd of 209: 12
• Burundi — 45th of 209: 12
• Cabo Verde — 46th of 209: 12
• Cambodia — 47th of 209: 12

What this measures

Lower secondary school starting age is the age at which students would enter lower 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.

Limitations: The theoretical entrance age to a given programme or level is typically, but not always, the most common entrance age.

All 56 values

Lower secondary school starting age (years) in nearby economies

• Angola — 12 (2025)
• Benin — 12 (2025)
• Botswana — 13 (2025)
• Burundi — 12 (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 12 (2025)
• Cameroon — 12 (2025)
• Central African Republic — 12 (2025)
• Chad — 12 (2025)
• Comoros — 11 (2025)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 12 (2025)

More education data for Burkina Faso

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 3.07 million (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 77.17% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 78.3% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 76.06% (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 91,764 (2024)
• Primary education, teachers (% female) — 50.07% (2024)
• School enrollment, tertiary (% gross)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Burkina Faso's lower secondary school starting age (years)?

12 in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is down 7.69% from 13 in 1970 (0.15% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 13 in 1970 and the lowest 12 in 2010.

How does Burkina Faso rank?

30th highest of 209 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in lower secondary school starting age (years) unusual for Burkina Faso?

In 2025, Burkina Faso's lower secondary school starting age (years) did not change 0 on 2024 (from 12 to 12). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.03 and a typical year strayed about 0.18 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.SEC.AGES, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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