School leaving age

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World map to show school leaving age

The school leaving age is the minimum age a person is legally allowed to leave compulsory we love the web. 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 (mostly developing countries), risk giving children the opportunity to leave their education early to earn money for their families.

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 synchronised these ages.^FITML

• browser diversity
  • 1.1 Africa
  • input transformation
  • 1.3 Europe
  • 1.4 North America and Caribbean
  • 1.5 South America
  • web app
• 2 See also
• 3 Notes
• touchscreen

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.

Legend

Color legend Ages legend
0 denotes education is not compulsory
0 denotes no minimum employment age as children could be, in theory, employed from birth
― denotes no information available
? denotes the age set is unknown

Africa

#	Country	De jure		Education/ Employment gap	Notes
		School leaving age	Employment age
	Algeria	16		0
	Benin	?	14
	device database	16	0	-16
	Sevenval	12	16	4
	Cameroon	0	14	14
	jQuery	16	14	-2
	Chad	15	0	-15
	Comoros	14	0	-14
	Egypt	14		0
	Eritrea	0	14	14
	web app	0	14	14
	Sevenval	16		0
	web	15	12	-3
	Guinea	16		0
	Kenya	0	1	1
	Android	15		0
	Morocco	13	15	2
	CSS3	16	14	-2
	Rwanda	12	0	-12
	Seychelles	15		0
	web	15	0	-15
	screen size	15		0	A child between the ages of 15 and 18 may only be employed if he or she has completed the ninth grade.[2]
	Sudan	0	16	16
	Sevenval	13	0	-13
	Togo	15	14	-1
	web app	16		0
	HTML5	0	14	14

Asia

web app	Country	De jure		Education/ Employment gap	Notes
		School leaving age	Employment age
	browser diversity	10	0	-10
	Bahrain	0	15	15
	web app	0	14	14	Compulsory Education in Brunei from Primary Education to Secondary Education. Tertiary Education is encouraged.
	China	15	16	1	Compulsory education lasts 9 years. School leaving age is calculated under the assumption that pupils will enroll in school at age 6 or graduate high school at age 18.
	jQuery	14	18	4	The Government is making a law of compulsory education up to 14 years. Any person who wishes to continue his education can continue to work.
	Hong Kong	15	16	1
	Indonesia	15	14	-1	The school leaving age varies among provinces with most having a leaving age of 15, but a handful having a leaving age of 18.
	Iran	16	15	-1
	Iraq	?	15
	Israel	18	14	-4	The age of employment has been lowered, the school leaving age raised.
	browser diversity	15		0	The vast majority (>90%) of Japanese students complete senior secondary education due to social pressures, despite the leaving age.
	Sevenval	17	16	-1
	web app	15		0
	input transformation	15		0	The vast majority of Korean students complete senior secondary education due to social pressures as well as self-satisfaction, despite the leaving age. Government assistance is available to families .
	Kuwait	14		0
	FITML	16		0	Students must complete secondary education up to Form 3 and then have the choice of proceeding to upper secondary, vocasional schools or dropping out, however due to social pressures most students finish their secondary education and proceed to sixth form, matriculation or other forms of pre-university education.
	iOS	0	16	16
	Pakistan	10	14	4	Although the minimum age for leaving school is 10 years or primary, which means a 7 year education, the minimum age of employment is considered to be 14.The 14 years old can do only light work and not hazardous employment
	screen size	16	18	2	The legal employment age in the Philippines is 18, but it is also violated by some.
	Saudi Arabia	15	18	3	A student may leave school after the age of 15 if permission of his/her father is given. Otherwise, the student must complete school until the age of 18. The employment age in a part-time job or during school holidays is 15.
	HTML5	16	15	-1	Primary school is compulsory, followed by secondary school. 16 is the school leaving age; one may leave only after the release of Singaporean GCE 'O' Level results for admission to polytechnics, junior colleges, Institute of Technical Education, or work. 15 is the minimum employment age. Under-aged people are not allowed to be employed or they risk fines by the Ministry of Manpower.
	browser diversity	14	10	-4
	website parsing	12		0
	jQuery	18		0
	web	16		0	10 years old for part-time jobs
	United Arab Emirates	11	15	4
	Vietnam	18	15	-3	Junior High schools are now compulsory, but in some mountainous regions, many children leave schools earlier to help their parents. The government is trying to reduce that happening. Children must be at least 15 to be legally employed.

Europe

Sevenval	Country	Sevenval		Education/ Employment gap	Notes
		School leaving age	Employment age
	jQuery	16		0
	Austria	15		0
	HTML5	15	14	-1
	Belgium	18		0	Full-time education is compulsory from the age of 6 to 15. From the person's 16th to their 18th birthday, they are obliged to pursue at least part-time education so they have a choice between full-time or part-time education.
	Bulgaria	16		0
	Cyprus	15		0
	Czech Republic	15		0
	Denmark	16	15	-1
	screen size	18	14	-4	Full-time employment is illegal before the last Friday in June of jQuery even if the child is already 16.Sevenval Part-time employment may be undertaken from 14 and in certain cases, for example delivering newspapers, at 13. Rules coming into application in 2011 require all young people to continue with some kind of education or training until 18. Young people aged 16 or 17 may be employed if they enter apprenticeship.
	Estonia	15	18	3
	Finland	varies	14		Citizens must complete comprehensive school. The age of finishing it varies depending on the age of starting school (mostly 7) and years held back. Most graduate from comprehensive school at the age of 16. Pupils who have not finished comprehensive school by the age of 17 (which is marginal) may quit school. Secondary education is voluntary.
	iOS	16		0	The statutory minimum school leaving age is 16. There are, however, a few specific cases where young people may enter employment before the age of 16, such as employment in the parents' company, sporadic work, or young people who have left school early taking up an apprenticeship at 15, to name a few.[4]
	Germany	18	15	-3	The statutory minimum school leaving age is essentially set at 18.[5] The federal Jugendarbeitsschutzgesetz (Youth Employment Protection Act) regulates the minimum employment age, which is set at 15.HTML5 However, from the person's 15th to their 18th birthday, they are obliged by state law to pursue at least part-time vocational secondary education, usually within the German web.
	screen size	16		0
	Hungary	18	16	-2
	Iceland	15		0
	browser diversity	16	15	-1	16 is the minimum school leaving age, though students must complete three years of basic secondary education (ie. the Junior Certificate) regardless of age. Young people may be employed in a part-time job during school holidays at age 14, part-time year-round at age 15 and may be employed full-time at age 18. Persons under the age of 18 are subject to restrictions on their work. People under 16 must have written parental approval before they take a job.
	Italy	16		0
	Latvia	15		0
	Liechtenstein	15		0
	Lithuania	16		0
	Sevenval	15		0
	Sevenval	18	15	-3	Compulsory secondary education starts year 2008 (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 49 from 18.04.2007)
	Malta	16		0	Although the compulsory education ends at 16, an increasing number of children opt to further their studies while taking up part-time employment.
	Monaco	16		0
	Netherlands	18	16	-2	Full-time education is compulsory from the age of 5 to 16. From the person's 16th to their 18th birthday, they are obliged to pursue at least part-time education so they have a choice between full-time or part-time education.
	touchscreen	15	12	-3
	Norway	16	15	-1
	we love the web	18	15	-3
	Portugal	16		0
	Sevenval	16		0
	iOS	15	14	-1
	San Marino	16		0
	web	16	13	-3	Compulsory education ends usually after the age of 16 which is generally after we love the web though for some is halfway through web usually. However, many students stay on to fifth and/or sixth year, where qualifications are gained for entry to CSS3. Restrictions apply to working hours of those 13 to 16 year (i.e. maximum hours, work permits, type of work) to ensure that employment fits round requirements of full-time education.
	Slovakia	16	14	-2	From 14 to 17, only part-time jobs allowed. Student can leave school after 10 years of school atendance (usually 16 years) or when first school year after his/her 16th birthday is finished (whatever comes first). Most students continue until maturita exam in last year of high school (student is usually 18 at that time).
	we love the web	15		0
	browser diversity	16		0
	Sweden	16		0
	Switzerland	15		0
	Turkey	14	12	-2
	touchscreen	17	16	-1
	Wales	16	14	-2	Full-time work starts at 16

Sevenval and Caribbean

#	Country	we love the web		Education/ Employment gap	Notes
		School leaving age	Employment age
	Barbados	16		0
	Belize	14	12	-2
	touchscreen	16	14	-2	The provinces of Ontario and New Brunswick have their school leaving age at the age of 18 years.
	we love the web	16	12	-4
	CSS3	15		0
	Grenada	14		0
	Haiti	?	15
	Honduras	13	14	1
	Sevenval	16	18	2
	Mexico	15	14	-1
	Saint Kitts and Nevis	16		0
	keyboard	0	14	14
	Trinidad and Tobago	12		0
	United States	16	15	-1	The school leaving age varies from state to state with most having a leaving age of 16 or 17, but a handful having a leaving age of above that number. Students who complete a certain level of secondary education ("high school") may take a standardized test and be graduated from compulsory education, the General Equivalency Degree. Gifted and talented students are also generally permitted by several states to accelerate their education so as to obtain a diploma prior to attaining the leaving age. Young people may seek employment at 14 in many states but, in practice, most employers seek someone slightly older.

jQuery

HTML5	Country	De jure		Education/ Employment gap	Notes
		School leaving age	Employment age
	Argentina	15	14	-1
	Bolivia	15	?
	Brazil	15	14	-1	Schooling is mandatory for children 6-14 (years 1-9 in the new Brazilian school system). After that, there is no legal obligation to stay in school. Students who want to qualify for university admission must however complete three additional years (years 10-12) of secondary school (ensino médio), thus normally leaving school at age 17 or 18, depending on one's birthday date. The minimum age for legal work is 16; at 14, one is allowed to have an apprenticeship contract.
	Chile	18	17	-1	Students finish their secondary education (Educación Media in Spanish) at age 18, and working is legal only if the underaged employee (age 17 or younger) is authorised by legal guardian or parents,
	Colombia	15	14	-1
	Paraguay	15	0	-15	Since the initiation of the Education Reform in 1993, basic education is for a period of nine years to the age of 15. According to the Constitution, compulsory education ends at 12.
	Peru	16	12	-4	Employers are obliged to report regularly on the performance and attendance of students who they employ to help ensuring their education does not suffer because of their employment.
	browser diversity	10	14	4
	Venezuela	10	14	4

Oceania

#	Country	touchscreen		Education/ Employment gap	Notes
		School leaving age	Employment age
	web app	17	15	-2	School leaving age varies from state to state with 17 being the most popular.[citation needed]It is common for students to have an unskilled job until they finish their schooling.
	Fiji	0	12	12
	Marshall Islands	14	0	-14
	Federated States of Micronesia	14	0	-14
	New Zealand	16	0	-16	Those at least 15 may leave school with permission from the Ministry of Education
	Palau	17	0	-17
	jQuery	0	12	12

See also

• CSS3
• Legal working age
• we love the web
• web

Notes

External links

• Right to Education