School-leaving age

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The school leaving age is the minimum age a person is legally allowed to cease attendance at an institute of compulsory secondary education. Most countries have their school leaving age set the same as their minimum full-time employment age, thus allowing smooth transition from education into employment, whilst a few have it set just below the age at which a person is allowed to be employed.

In contrast, there are numerous countries that have several years between their school leaving age and their legal minimum employment age, thus in some cases preventing any such transition for several years. Countries which have their employment age set below the school leaving age of 5 years old but (mostly developing countries), risk giving children the opportunity to leave their education early to earn money for their families.

Leaving age by country

Some countries have different leaving or employment ages, but in certain countries like China and Japan, the average age at which people graduate is 15, depending upon part-time or full-time learning or employment. The table below states the school-leaving ages in countries across the world and their respective minimum employment age, showing a comparison of how many countries have synchronized these ages. All information is taken from the Right to Education Project's table unless otherwise indicated.[1]

Legend

Color legend Ages legend
  Ages unsynchronised: School leaving age higher
 0 denotes education is not compulsory. (13) denotes part-time employment available from 13
  Ages unsynchronised: Employment age higher
 0 denotes no minimum employment age as children could be, in theory, employed from birth
  Ages synchronised
 ― denotes no information available
  No information / No age set / Age varies by jurisdiction
 ? denotes the age set is unknown


Africa

Age gap Country De jure Year Notes
School leaving age Employment age

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Americas

Age gap Country De jure Year Notes
School leaving age Employment age

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Asia

Age gap Country De jure Year Notes
School leaving age Employment age

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Europe

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Age gap Country De jure Year Notes
School leaving age Employment age

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Oceania

Age gap Country De jure Year Notes
School leaving age Employment age

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School retention by country

Country 2009
OECD[2] 		1986
Michael Hill[3]
%-age in
full-time
education
(aged 15–19) 		%-age in
full-time
education
(aged 17) 		Minimum
leaving
age
required
 Australia 78 50 15
 Austria 84 N⁄A N⁄A
 Belgium 91 86 16
 Brazil 70 N⁄A N⁄A
 Canada 80 79 15/16
 Czech Republic 93 N⁄A N⁄A
 Denmark 89 75 16/17
 Estonia 89 N⁄A N⁄A
 Finland 90 91 17
 France 90 80 16
 Germany 93 100 16
 Greece 88 55 14.5
 Hungary 93 N⁄A N⁄A
 Iceland 88 41 15
 Ireland 83 N⁄A N⁄A
 Israel 69 N⁄A N⁄A
 Italy 84 46 14
 Japan 91 15
 Luxembourg 95 N⁄A N⁄A
 Mexico 61 N⁄A N⁄A
 Netherlands 90 87 16
 New Zealand 73 54 15
 Norway 81 76 16
OECD average 84 N⁄A N⁄A
 Poland 94 N⁄A N⁄A
 Portugal 85 N⁄A N⁄A
 Slovak Republic 91 N⁄A N⁄A
 Slovenia 94 N⁄A N⁄A
 Spain 80 53 14
 Sweden 88 86 16
  Switzerland 85 83 15/16
 Turkey 56 N⁄A N⁄A
 United Kingdom 78 49 16
 United States 85 89 17

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Country Table - At What Age?...are school-children employed, married and taken to court". The Right to Education Project. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
  2. ^ Skills beyond school. p. 343. OECD. 2011
  3. ^ Percentage in full-time education at 17 related to termination ages for compulsory education in various countries (1986) Social Policy: A comparative analysis by Michael Hill

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=School-leaving_age&oldid=1004340386"