List of countries by tertiary education attainment explained

This is a list of countries by the proportions of 25- to 64-year-olds having completed tertiary education as published by the OECD. It includes some non-OECD nations.

Tertiary education is the educational level following the completion of a school providing a secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including universities as well as institutions that teach specific capacities of higher learning such as colleges, technical training institutes, community colleges, nursing schools, research laboratories, centers of excellence, and distance learning centers.^[1]

2019 OECD data

This list includes non-OECD member countries: Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa.^[2]

Country	Age 25–64 (%)	Age				Year	Non-OECD
		25–34 (%)	35–44 (%)	45–54 (%)	55–64 (%)
Australia	42	48	46	38	33	2014
Austria	30	38	33	27	21	2014
Belgium	37	44	42	34	26	2014
Brazil	14	15	14	14	11	2013
Canada	54	58	61	51	45	2014
Chile	36	38	34	28	26	2014
China	17	27	15	7	2	2018
Colombia	22	28	23	18	16	2014
Costa Rica	18	21	19	17	17	2014
Czech Republic	22	30	21	20	16	2014
Denmark	36	42	41	33	29	2014
Estonia	38	40	39	35	36	2014
Finland	42	40	50	44	34	2014
France	32	44	39	26	20	2013
Germany	27	28	29	26	25	2014
Greece	28	39	27	26	21	2014
Hungary	23	32	25	20	17	2014
Iceland	37	41	42	36	29	2014
Indonesia	12	16	9	8	4	2018	^[3]
Ireland	41	51	49	34	24	2014
Israel	49	46	53	48	47	2014
Italy	17	24	19	13	12	2014
Japan	48	59	53	47	35	2014
Latvia	30	39	31	27	23	2014
Lithuania	37	53	38	30	28	2014
Luxembourg	46	53	56	40	32	2014
Mexico	19	25	17	16	13	2014
Netherlands	34	44	38	30	27	2014
New Zealand	36	40	41	32	29	2014
Norway	42	49	49	36	32	2014
Poland	27	43	32	18	14	2014
Portugal	22	31	26	17	13	2014
	54	58	55	53	50	2013
Saudi Arabia	22	26	22	18	14	2013
Slovakia	20	30	21	15	14	2014
Slovenia	29	38	35	24	18	2014
South Africa	7	5	7	8	7	2012
	45	68	56	33	17	2014
Spain	35	41	43	30	21	2014
Sweden	39	46	46	32	30	2014
Switzerland	40	46	45	38	31	2014
Turkey	17	25	16	10	10	2014
^[4]	45	X	X	X	X	2015
United Kingdom	42	49	46	38	35	2014
United States	44	46	47	43	41	2014	Countries by level of tertiary education This is a list of countries by the level of tertiary education completed by 25–64 year olds as of the year 2022.^[5] Short-cycle tertiary Bachelor's or equivalent Master's or equivalent Doctoral or equivalent Total Australia 12 29 9 2 51 Austria 15 6 14 1 36 Belgium 1 25 19 1 46 Canada 26 24 12 63 Chile 10 19 2 31 Colombia 28 28 Costa Rica 7 16 3 25 Czech Republic 0 7 19 1 27 Denmark 5 21 15 2 42 Estonia 6 15 21 1 42 Finland 8 18 16 1 43 France 14 12 14 1 42 Germany 1 18 12 2 33 Greece 0 25 8 1 35 Hungary 1 15 13 0 29 Iceland 4 21 17 1 44 Ireland 10 28 15 2 54 Israel 11 24 14 1 51 Italy 0 6 14 1 20 Japan 21 35 56 Korea 15 34 4 53 Latvia 4 17 18 0 39 Lithuania 30 16 1 47 Luxembourg 5 15 29 3 51 Mexico 1 18 2 0 21 Netherlands 2 24 17 1 45 New Zealand 4 30 5 1 40 Norway 12 21 14 1 48 Poland 0 8 25 1 34 Portugal 0 10 21 1 31 Slovak Republic 0 4 24 1 29 Slovenia 8 12 16 4 40 Spain 13 11 16 1 41 Sweden 10 20 17 2 49 Switzerland 25 17 3 45 Türkiye 7 16 2 0 25 United Kingdom 9 26 14 2 51 United States 11 25 12 2 50 See also Education by country List of universities and colleges by country List of countries by secondary education attainment References Book: Brick, Jean. Academic Culture: A Student's Guide to Studying at University. 2006. National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research. Sydney, N.S.W. 978-1-74138-135-1. 1–10. What is academic culture?. External links Tertiary education statistics, UNESCO Quality Research International – (Glossary)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Tertiary Education (Higher Education). The World Bank.
2. Web site: OECD.Stat Education and Training > Education at a Glance > Educational attainment and labor-force status > Educational attainment of 25-64 year-olds . OECD.
3. Web site: Education at a Glance Indonesia . OECD.
4. Web site: Higher Education Crisis in Taiwan The World View.
5. Web site: Home.