School leaving age around the world

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, 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.

Country	De jure		Education/ Employment gap	Year	Notes
	School leaving age	Employment age
Burgundie	18	18	0	1974	Upon graduation of the lyceum, all Burgundians are conscripted into the Standardized Militia Program for a year of federal, typically military, service.
Caphiria	16	18-21	2-5	2020
Cartadania	17-18*	14-18*		2010	The age in which students leave school varies by state and territory, and is truly based on their date of birth, but generally falls between 17 and 18 years of age in their final year of high school. Unlike some other countries, Cartadania's education law does not allow students to leave the secondary education system without full completion of state diploma requirements. While some states allow employment as young as 14 years, most states restrict their employment opportunities to familial and agricultural practices until age 15 or 16. * Varies by state or territory.
Corumm
Faneria	16-18	15 (Apprenticeships), 16	0	2020
Fiannria
Kiravia	varies	varies	varies (usually 0)	various	Labour law and education policy are the purview of state and territorial governments, not the federal government. As such, the minimum school leaving age and minimum full-time employment age vary by jurisdiction, with the latter almost always equal to or lower than the former. Workers may begin paying into social insurance programs as early as 14. The lowest school leaving age is 12 (Kyllera) and the highest is 18 (Fariva). The lowest full-time employment age at non-family, non-agricultural enterprises is 14 (Kyllera) and the highest is 17 (District of Coīnvra). Many Western Highlands states do not require Aboriginal Kiravite children to attend school, and children living on tribal land are exempt in states that do, although most tribes have their own compulsory education laws.
Pelaxia	18	15-18(Part Time Work), 18+ (Full Time)	0	1988
Urcea	16-18	15-19			School leaving age and employment age varies by province. A majority of provinces have equalized both at 17.
Vithinja	18	15 (Part Time Work/Internships) 18+ (Full Time)	0-3	1975	Students are expected to specialize towards a union during their high school years, after which unless their profession requires further study they should get employed through apprenticeship.

School retention by country

Country	2008	2008
	%-age in full-time education (aged 15–19)	%-age in full-time education (aged 17)	Minimum leaving age required
Burgundie
Caphiria
Corumm
Kiravia	unavailable
Faneria
Pelaxia
Urcea