Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in France

France: Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education was 12 in 2020. ▬ Flat

Latest (2020)
12
Change on year
up 20.0%
World rank
5th
of 205 countries
All-time high
12
in 2020
All-time low
10
in 1998
Years of data
23
1998–2020

Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in France, 1998–2020

02.557.51012.51998200920201998: 101999: 102000: 102001: 102002: 102003: 102004: 102005: 102006: 102007: 102008: 102009: 102010: 102011: 102012: 102013: 102014: 102015: 102016: 102017: 102018: 102019: 102020: 12

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Analysis

France recorded 12 for number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in 2020. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.

The figure is up 20.0% on the previous year and up 20.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in France peaked at 12 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 10, in 1998.

That places France 5th out of 205 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.

Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in France, year by year

Annual values for Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education guaranteed in legal frameworks in France, 1998 to 2020.
Year Value Change
1998 10
1999 10 +0.0%
2000 10 +0.0%
2001 10 +0.0%
2002 10 +0.0%
2003 10 +0.0%
2004 10 +0.0%
2005 10 +0.0%
2006 10 +0.0%
2007 10 +0.0%
2008 10 +0.0%
2009 10 +0.0%
2010 10 +0.0%
2011 10 +0.0%
2012 10 +0.0%
2013 10 +0.0%
2014 10 +0.0%
2015 10 +0.0%
2016 10 +0.0%
2017 10 +0.0%
2018 10 +0.0%
2019 10 +0.0%
2020 12 +20.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 10 10 10 2
2000s 10 10 10 10
2010s 10 10 10 10
2020s 12 12 12 1

Countries ranked near France

  1. 5 Argentina 12 compare
  2. 5 Armenia 12 compare
  3. 5 Austria 12 compare
  4. 5 Bahamas 12 compare
  5. 5 Belgium 12 compare
  6. 5 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 12 compare
  7. 5 Brazil 12 compare
  8. 5 British Virgin Islands 12 compare
  9. 5 Chile 12 compare
  10. 5 Curaçao 12 compare
  11. 5 Dominica 12 compare
  12. 5 Dominican Republic 12 compare
  13. 5 Ecuador 12 compare
  14. 5 Egypt 12 compare
  15. 5 Grenada 12 compare
  16. 5 Israel 12 compare
  17. 5 Italy 12 compare
  18. 5 Kenya 12 compare
  19. 5 Marshall Islands 12 compare
  20. 5 Mexico 12 compare
  21. 5 Mongolia 12 compare
  22. 5 Naoero 12 compare
  23. 5 Netherlands 12 compare
  24. 5 Pakistan 12 compare
  25. 5 Palau 12 compare
  26. 5 Paraguay 12 compare
  27. 5 Philippines 12 compare
  28. 5 Portugal 12 compare
  29. 5 Puerto Rico 12 compare
  30. 5 Saint Kitts and Nevis 12 compare
  31. 5 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 12 compare
  32. 5 Türkiye 12 compare
  33. 5 Turkmenistan 12 compare
  34. 5 United States of America 12 compare
  35. 5 Uruguay 12 compare
  36. 5 Uzbekistan 12 compare

See the full ranking of 205 places →

More reference data data for France

All data for France →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in France?
Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in France was 12 in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education recorded in France?
The highest recorded value was 12 in 2020.
What is the lowest number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education recorded in France?
The lowest recorded value was 10 in 1998.
How does France rank for number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education?
France ranks 5th out of 205 countries with data for 2020.
Is number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education rising or falling in France?
Over the last ten years it is up 20.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this France data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education guaranteed in legal frameworks. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in France. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/number-of-years-of-compulsory-primary-and-secondary-education-guaranteed-in-legal/france/

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About this data

Indicator
Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education guaranteed in legal frameworks
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
205 places, 4,529 data points, 1975–2020
Last refreshed

Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education. Most countries have legislation specifying the ages and the level of education (typically pre-primary or primary education) at which children should start school. Such legislation usually also specifies either the number of years of education that are guaranteed or the age at which young people may leave education or, in some cases, both. The number of years of primary and secondary education to which children are legally entitled should ideally be the number of grades of primary and secondary education which young people are expected to have completed before being legally eligible to leave school. Years of pre-primary education covered by the legal entitlement should be excluded from this indicator. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/