North America: Compulsory education, duration (years)

Key figures

What the numbers say

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

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

Duration of compulsory education is the number of years that children are legally obliged to attend school.

Limitations: The presence of national legislation does not guarantee that countries will implement it effectively, nor does it ensure that parents will take advantage of the provisions available for their children.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.

All 28 values

Compulsory education, duration (years) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 9 (2025)
• Algeria — 10 (2025)
• Bahrain — 9 (2025)
• Djibouti — 10 (2025)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 12 (2025)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 9 (2025)
• Iraq — 6 (2025)
• Israel — 15 (2025)
• Jordan — 10 (2025)
• Kuwait — 9 (2025)
• Lebanon

More education data for North America

• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 26.2 million (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 28.14 million (2024)
• Secondary education, teachers — 1.89 million (2024)
• School enrollment, preprimary (% gross) — 70.3% (2020)
• Tertiary education, academic staff (% female) — 51.24% (2024)
• School enrollment, secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 0.98 (2020)
• Secondary education, general pupils — 27.5 million (2018)
• Secondary education, vocational pupils

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is North America's compulsory education, duration (years)?

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

How has it changed since 1998?

It is unchanged at from 11 in 1998. The highest value was 11 in 1998 and the lowest 11 in 1998.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, 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..

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.COM.DURS, 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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