Countries where homeschooling is allowed

Homeschooling or home schooling is allowed in many countries. Most homeschooling is in the following countries: Australia , Canada , New Zealand , Great Britain and the USA . Some countries have highly regulated homeschooling programs as an extension of the compulsory education system. Few countries have banned home schooling entirely. In some countries we do not yet know whether homeschooling is allowed or tolerated in these countries.

Homeschooling (homeschooling)
blue = legal, with minimal regulations or without exceptions
green = legal, but subject to registration or lax restrictions
yellow = legal, but with restrictive regulations
orange = either partially legal or depending on the circumstances
red = illegal, without known exceptions
gray = legality unknown or unclear

In the following, we list those countries and regions in which you can either train your children yourself or through private teachers in home lessons or have them taught via an online school (for some this is only permitted under certain conditions). The countries are listed in alphabetical order. Much of the data is from 2019 and 2020, others from the years before.

Countries

Status 

Statistics

Argentina

Children can be homeschooled, but parents must apply for permission from the Provincial Education Council.

Not Specified

Australia

Legal as an alternative to the compulsory Public School system.

15,000 Students 

Austria

Home schooling is legal under restrictive conditions as long as the teaching at least corresponds to that of the state school.

2,100 students

Belgium

Homeschooling is legal under restrictive conditions and a constitutional right in Belgium.

500 students 

Belize 

Expats have the right to home schooling. However, the presence requirement is unclear.

Not specified 

Brazil

The Supreme Court has not yet issued a statement on homeschooling so there is still no legalization. But since 2019 there is a new project through which homeschooling can be legalized in the country.

7,000 families 

Bulgaria 

Public education is compulsory. Only children with special needs are allowed to be homeschooled under strict government control.

less than 100 families

Canada

Legal under regulatory conditions.

More than 60,000

Chile

The constitution guarantees freedom of education. Prior registration with the Ministerio de Educación is required.

8,000 to 15,000 students

China

Illegal for citizens without a permit, but with no restrictions for foreign students.

over 6,000 families (2017)

Colombia

Legal. Regulated by the Ministry of Education and the ICFES (Colombian Institute for the Advancement of Higher Education). A student must take a public aptitude test and a state test (similar to SAT) if he / she wishes to attend college.

not specified

Czech Republic

Legal under restrictive conditions as an alternative (for “serious reasons”) to primary school. Exams are compulsory twice a year.

2,500 families

Denmark

Legally under the control of the school, as an alternative to the compulsory public school system. Inspections are mandatory every year unless specific arrangements have been made.

349 to 375 children (2017)

Estonia

Legal. Every home-schooled child must be supervised by an authorized school (can be a private school) and pass annual exams. It receives a diploma from the supervisory school.

less than 100 students

Finland

Legal as an alternative to the compulsory public school system. Written and oral exams are mandatory.

400 to 600 students

France

Legal as an alternative to the compulsory public school system. Annual inspections are mandatory.

35,950 students (2018/2019)

Germany

Home schooling is illegal, with only one exception, that a continued school attendance would cause undue difficulty a single child (eg serious illness).

500 to 3,000 students

Great Britain

Legal as an alternative to the compulsory state school system.

more than 48,000 children

Greece

Illegal. Home schooling is only allowed for children with special needs.

not specified

Hong Kong

Legal with permission.

not specified

Hungary

Homeschooling is legal under certain conditions. Schooling is compulsory for children aged 6 to 16. Most of the time, children are homeschooled because of illness or other special circumstances. Homeschooled children need to be tested at least twice a year.

not specified

Iceland

Only holders of teaching qualifications are allowed to teach legally. In other cases, public education is compulsory.

not specified

India

Legal as an alternative to the compulsory public school system.

500 to 1,000 children

Indonesia

Legal as an alternative to the compulsory public school system.

not specified

Ireland

Homeschooling is allowed and anchored in the constitution.

1,100 students

Israel

Legal under regulatory conditions.

448 children from 2013/14

Italy

Homeschooling is allowed and anchored in the constitution.

not specified

Kazakhistan

Not illegal, but not enshrined in law. Legal for gifted and disabled students. Door-to-door checks are carried out on a regular basis. Legal for non-residents.

Many immigrant families are homeschooled

Latvia

Legal. Each child must be supervised by an authorized school (can be a private school) and pass annual exams. Home-schooled children receive a diploma from the supervisory school.

less than 100 families

Lithuania

Legal. Each child must be supervised by an authorized school (can be a private school) and pass annual exams. Home-schooled children receive a diploma from the supervisory school.

not specified

Luxembourg

Legal for elementary school age.

not specified

Mexico

Legal as long as the student is registered, which can be a lengthy bureaucratic process. The compulsory attendance laws are unclear.

not specified

Moldova

Not illegal. Details are missing.

100 to 200

Netherlands

Illegal as public or private education is compulsory. There are, however, a few exceptions .

931 children exempted (2017/2018)

New Zealand

Legal as an alternative to the compulsory public school system.

6,500 students

Norway

Homeschooling is legal under restrictive conditions as long as the teaching at least corresponds to that of the state school.

more than 400 students

Panama

Legality or requirements not yet clarified.

not specified

Paraguay

For local residences attendance at public or state schools is compulsory. Foreigners can have home tuition if they do not speak Spanish or Guarani sufficiently and if a native-speaking school is more than 50 km or over an hour’s drive from their place of residence.

not specified

Peru

Legal. Prior registration with the Ministerio de Educación is required.

not specified

Philippines

Legal. Details are missing.

More than 9,000

Poland

Legal under restrictive conditions. Every home-schooled child must be supervised by an authorized school (can be a private school) and pass annual exams . Schoolchildren receive diplomas from the school inspectorate.

Around 14,000 children (2017)

Portugal

Legal. Children who live in Portugal for more than 4 months are required to go to school by law. Home schooling according to the Portuguese curriculum only . Compulsory annual exams in Portuguese.

not specified

Romania

Legal under restrictive conditions. Children with disabilities, special needs or whose condition does not allow them to be physically present in a school can be homeschooled under the supervision of an accredited teacher. Foreign curriculum can be studied from abroad under the supervision of an umbrella school.

500 students

Russia

Legal. Every home-schooled child must be enrolled in a government-licensed school (can be a private school) and not have to take annual exams . Children receive diplomas from the school inspectorate.

50,000 to 100,000 students

Serbia

Legal. Details are missing.

not specified

Slovakia

Legal, under restrictive conditions (only sick children or children aged 6 to 10 years).

not specified

Slovenia

Legal. Details are missing.

not specified

South Africa

Legal as an alternative to the compulsory public school system.

30,000 to 100,000 children

South Korea

Not allowed by law, but since the law is unclear and this fact is supported by business people, homeschoolers generally have no problem with authorities.

not specified

Spain

Unclear, as the constitution recognizes the freedom of education, but the national education law provides that compulsory schooling must be fulfilled by attending school.

about 2,000 families

Suriname

Legal. Details are missing.

not specified

Sweden

Illegal (as of June 2010); supposedly allowed under special circumstances such as student health reasons or temporary residence, but practically never approved .

200 families – semi-legal

Switzerland

Legal in around three quarters of the cantons, many of which are restrictive to very restrictive.

2500 Children

Taiwan

Legal. Details are missing.

not specified

Thailand

Legal. Details are missing.

not specified

Trinidad and Tobago

Legal. Details are missing.

not specified

Ukraine

Legally but heavily regulated.

100 families

USA

Legally permitted under regulatory conditions, which, however, vary from state to state.

About 2.5 million students

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