Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in India

India: Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education was 8 in 2019. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2019)
8
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
151st
of 205 countries
All-time high
8
in 2009
All-time low
0
in 1998
Years of data
22
1998–2019

Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in India, 1998–2019

024681998200820191998: 01999: 02000: 02001: 02002: 02003: 02004: 02005: 02006: 02007: 02008: 02009: 82010: 82011: 82012: 82013: 82014: 82015: 82016: 82017: 82018: 82019: 8

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Analysis

India recorded 8 for number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in 2019. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.

That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in India peaked at 8 in 2009 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1998.

That places India 151st out of 205 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

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

Annual values for Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education guaranteed in legal frameworks in India, 1998 to 2019.
Year Value Change
1998 0
1999 0
2000 0
2001 0
2002 0
2003 0
2004 0
2005 0
2006 0
2007 0
2008 0
2009 8
2010 8 +0.0%
2011 8 +0.0%
2012 8 +0.0%
2013 8 +0.0%
2014 8 +0.0%
2015 8 +0.0%
2016 8 +0.0%
2017 8 +0.0%
2018 8 +0.0%
2019 8 +0.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 0 0 0 2
2000s 0.8 0 8 10
2010s 8 8 8 10

Countries ranked near India

  1. 151 Belize 8 compare
  2. 151 Croatia 8 compare
  3. 151 Eritrea 8 compare
  4. 151 Ethiopia 8 compare
  5. 151 Liechtenstein 8 compare
  6. 151 Malawi 8 compare
  7. 151 Micronesia, Federated States of 8 compare
  8. 151 Nepal 8 compare
  9. 151 Samoa 8 compare
  10. 151 Serbia 8 compare
  11. 151 South Sudan 8 compare
  12. 151 Sudan 8 compare

See the full ranking of 205 places →

More reference data data for India

All data for India →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in India?
Number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education in India was 8 in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education recorded in India?
The highest recorded value was 8 in 2009.
What is the lowest number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education recorded in India?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1998.
How does India rank for number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education?
India ranks 151st out of 205 countries with data for 2019.
Is number of years of compulsory primary and secondary education rising or falling in India?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this India 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 India. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 08 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/number-of-years-of-compulsory-primary-and-secondary-education-guaranteed-in-legal/india/

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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/