Inep survey shows a 191% increase in applications from elderly candidates from 2022 to 2025
The Enem (National High School Exam) has no age restriction for participating in the test. The data from the Enem 2025 Panel, created by the National Institute of Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (Inep), includes participants from different age groups among the more than 4.81 million registered participants confirmed in this edition, from those candidates under 16 years of age to those aged 60 or over.
Despite representing the smallest age group (0.35% of the total) among those registered, candidates aged 60 or over increased by 191.38% from 2022 to 2025. In the current edition of Enem, this population totals 17,192 registered. While in 2022, there were 5,900.
Inep states that “the numbers reflect the educational advancement of a portion of society in search of individual and collective development”.
According to the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), in 2023, the proportion of people aged 60 or over in the Brazilian population was 15.6%. In absolute numbers, the country had 33 million elderly people in 2023.
Below are the numbers of people enrolled in Enem by age group:
- less than/equal to 16 years old: 678.122;
- equal to 17 years: 1.113.718;
- equal to 18 years: 1.039.558;
- equal to 19 years: 445.701;
- equal to 20 years: 257.063;
- from 21 to 30 years old: 811.081;
- from 31 to 59 years old: 448.903;
- over 60 years old: 17.192.
Profile of the elderly
This year, among Enem 2025 candidates aged 60 or over, women are the majority (54.35%). And 45.65% are male.
In relation to education, the largest number of registrants aged 60 or over have already completed secondary education (14,810).
Another 1,141 registrants are not attending or have not completed high school. In 3rd position, 1,069 registered elderly people are actively studying and are in the last year of high school.
Finally, 172 are attending high school, but will not complete it in the 2025 school year.
This year, Enem will again allow test scores to be used for certification of secondary school completion and for partial declaration of proficiency in the teaching stage.
The states that registered the highest number of confirmed enrollees over 60 years of age were Rio de Janeiro (3,087), São Paulo (2,367) and Minas Gerais (1,997).
Evidence
The objective tests and the writing of Enem 2025 will be applied on November 9th and 16th, in 1,804 municipalities.
The exceptions are Belém, Ananindeua and Marituba, in Pará. Due to the holding of COP30 (30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), in Belém, from November 10th to 21st, in these locations the tests will be administered on November 30th and December 7th.
Participants take tests in 4 areas of knowledge: languages, codes and their technologies; human sciences and their technologies; natural sciences and their technologies and mathematics and their technologies. In total, there are 180 objective questions.
Participants are also assessed through an essay, which requires the development of a dissertation-argumentative text, based on a problem.
One
The Enem (National High School Exam) was established in 1998.
The results can be used for various purposes to access public universities, to compete for full and partial scholarships at private universities, to apply for student credit to pay tuition at private colleges, to enter colleges without an entrance exam, to study in Portugal, for self-assessment and certification of completion of secondary education or partial declaration of proficiency at this stage of basic education.
To find out more about the exam, access the one created by Inep with answers to the most frequently asked questions.
With information from .
