The starting age for primary schools varies between 5, 6, and 7 years across various countries.
Primary education forms the molding years in students’ lives. The more carefully the clay is molded and crafted, the better is the future of students. Synonymously known as elementary education, primary education has an important role in the holistic development of a child. The formative years of education and training are most crucial, as they help in developing the reading, writing, and listening skills among students. Primary schools are like incubators of learning and innovation, that cater to strengthening of foundation on which the future rests.
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics provides the data regarding the age at which primary education begins in countries around the world.
In 2017, according to UNESCO, the age at which children entered primary education ranged from five to seven years from country to country. This entry level age remained largely static as compared to previous years’ data. However, a few countries did experience a variation of a year or so.
| Country Name | Starting Age (2017) |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 5 |
| Australia | 5 |
| Bahamas | 5 |
| Belize | 5 |
| Bermuda | 5 |
| Barbados | 5 |
| Cayman Islands | 5 |
| Dominica | 5 |
| The United Kingdom | 5 |
| Gibraltar | 5 |
| Grenada | 5 |
| Ireland | 5 |
| St. Kitts and Nevis | 5 |
| St. Lucia | 5 |
| Sri Lanka | 5 |
| Malta | 5 |
| Myanmar | 5 |
| Mauritius | 5 |
| Nepal | 5 |
| New Zealand | 5 |
| Pakistan | 5 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 5 |
| St. Vincent and the Grenadines | 5 |
| British Virgin Islands | 5 |
| Samoa | 5 |
| Aruba | 6 |
| Angola | 6 |
| Albania | 6 |
| Andorra | 6 |
| United Arab Emirates | 6 |
| Argentina | 6 |
| Armenia | 6 |
| American Samoa | 6 |
| Austria | 6 |
| Azerbaijan | 6 |
| Belgium | 6 |
| Benin | 6 |
| Burkina Faso | 6 |
| Bangladesh | 6 |
| Bahrain | 6 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 6 |
| Belarus | 6 |
| Bolivia | 6 |
| Brazil | 6 |
| Brunei | 6 |
| Bhutan | 6 |
| Botswana | 6 |
| Central African Republic | 6 |
| Canada | 6 |
| Chile | 6 |
| China | 6 |
| Cote d’Ivoire | 6 |
| Cameroon | 6 |
| Congo, Dem. Rep. | 6 |
| Congo, Rep. | 6 |
| Colombia | 6 |
| Comoros | 6 |
| Cabo Verde | 6 |
| Costa Rica | 6 |
| Cuba | 6 |
| Curacao | 6 |
| Cyprus | 6 |
| Czech Republic | 6 |
| Germany | 6 |
| Djibouti | 6 |
| Denmark | 6 |
| Dominican Republic | 6 |
| Algeria | 6 |
| Ecuador | 6 |
| Egypt | 6 |
| Eritrea | 6 |
| Spain | 6 |
| Fiji | 6 |
| France | 6 |
| Micronesia, Fed. Sts. | 6 |
| Gabon | 6 |
| Georgia | 6 |
| Ghana | 6 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 6 |
| Greece | 6 |
| Guam | 6 |
| Guyana | 6 |
| Hong Kong | 6 |
| Honduras | 6 |
| Haiti | 6 |
| India | 6 |
| Iran | 6 |
| Iraq | 6 |
| Iceland | 6 |
| Israel | 6 |
| Italy | 6 |
| Jamaica | 6 |
| Jordan | 6 |
| Japan | 6 |
| Kenya | 6 |
| Cambodia | 6 |
| Kiribati | 6 |
| Korea, South | 6 |
| Kuwait | 6 |
| Laos | 6 |
| Lebanon | 6 |
| Liberia | 6 |
| Libya | 6 |
| Lesotho | 6 |
| Luxembourg | 6 |
| Macao | 6 |
| Morocco | 6 |
| Monaco | 6 |
| Madagascar | 6 |
| Maldives | 6 |
| Mexico | 6 |
| Marshall Islands | 6 |
| Macedonia | 6 |
| Montenegro | 6 |
| Mongolia | 6 |
| Mozambique | 6 |
| Mauritania | 6 |
| Malawi | 6 |
| New Caledonia | 6 |
| Nigeria | 6 |
| Nicaragua | 6 |
| Netherlands | 6 |
| Norway | 6 |
| Nauru | 6 |
| Oman | 6 |
| Panama | 6 |
| Peru | 6 |
| Philippines | 6 |
| Palau | 6 |
| Papua New Guinea | 6 |
| Puerto Rico | 6 |
| Portugal | 6 |
| Paraguay | 6 |
| West Bank and Gaza | 6 |
| French Polynesia | 6 |
| Qatar | 6 |
| Romania | 6 |
| Saudi Arabia | 6 |
| Sudan | 6 |
| Senegal | 6 |
| Singapore | 6 |
| Solomon Islands | 6 |
| Sierra Leone | 6 |
| San Marino | 6 |
| Somalia | 6 |
| South Sudan | 6 |
| Sao Tome and Principe | 6 |
| Suriname | 6 |
| Slovakia | 6 |
| Slovenia | 6 |
| Swaziland | 6 |
| Sint Maarten | 6 |
| Seychelles | 6 |
| Syrian Arab Republic | 6 |
| Turks and Caicos Islands | 6 |
| Chad | 6 |
| Togo | 6 |
| Thailand | 6 |
| Turkmenistan | 6 |
| Timor-Leste | 6 |
| Tonga | 6 |
| Tunisia | 6 |
| Turkey | 6 |
| Tuvalu | 6 |
| Uganda | 6 |
| Ukraine | 6 |
| Uruguay | 6 |
| The United States | 6 |
| Venezuela, RB | 6 |
| Virgin Islands (U.S.) | 6 |
| Vietnam | 6 |
| Vanuatu | 6 |
| Yemen, Rep. | 6 |
| Zimbabwe | 6 |
| Afghanistan | 7 |
| Burundi | 7 |
| Bulgaria | 7 |
| Switzerland | 7 |
| Estonia | 7 |
| Ethiopia | 7 |
| Finland | 7 |
| Guinea | 7 |
| Gambia, The | 7 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 7 |
| Guatemala | 7 |
| Croatia | 7 |
| Hungary | 7 |
| Indonesia | 7 |
| Kazakhstan | 7 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 7 |
| Liechtenstein | 7 |
| Lithuania | 7 |
| Latvia | 7 |
| Moldova | 7 |
| Mali | 7 |
| Namibia | 7 |
| Niger | 7 |
| Poland | 7 |
| North Korea | 7 |
| Russia | 7 |
| Rwanda | 7 |
| El Salvador | 7 |
| Serbia | 7 |
| Sweden | 7 |
| Tajikistan | 7 |
| Tanzania | 7 |
| Uzbekistan | 7 |
| South Africa | 7 |
| Zambia | 7 |
| Channel Islands | NA |
| Greenland | NA |
| Isle of Man | NA |
| St. Martin | NA |
| Northern Mariana Islands | NA |
| Malaysia | NA |
| Kosovo | NA |
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