Global: OECD population with tertiary education

70 percent of the population in South Korea between 25 and 34 years had attained a tertiary education as of 2022, making it the OECD country with the highest proportion of tertiary education graduates. Canada followed with more than two thirds, while in Japan the share was around 66 percent. By comparison, roughly 13 percent of South Africans between 25 and 34 years had a tertiary education in 2022.

Share of people with tertiary education in OECD countries in 2022, by country

Characteristic	Share of people
South Korea	69.58%
Canada	66.97%
Japan	65.68%
Ireland	63.27%
Luxembourg	60.03%
Lithuania	58.15%
United Kingdom	57.7%
Norway	56.43%
Netherlands	56.42%
Australia	55.93%
Sweden	52.3%
Belgium	51.36%
Switzerland	51.26%
United States	51.26%
Spain	50.51%
France	50.39%
Denmark	49.01%
OECD average	47.42%
Slovenia	47.3%
Israel	46.25%
Latvia	45.88%
Greece	45.24%
Portugal	44.44%
New Zealand	44.09%
Estonia	43.91%
Austria	43.08%
Turkey	41.25%
Iceland	40.93%
Finland	40.76%
Chile**	40.51%
Poland	40.5%
Slovakia	39.11%
Germany	37.28%
Czechia	34.62%
Colombia	34.15%
Hungary	31.9%
Costa Rica	30.99%
Italy	29.2%
Mexico	27.27%
Brazil	23.19%
India	20.46%
Argentina*	19.03%
Indonesia	17.93%
South Africa	13.11%

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Release date

September 2023

More information

Region

Worldwide

Survey time period

2022

Age group

25-34 years

Special properties

as a share in the same age group

Supplementary notes

Population with tertiary education is defined as those having completed the highest level of education, by age group. This includes both theoretical programmes leading to advanced research or high skill professions such as medicine and more vocational programmes leading to the labour market. The measure is percentage of same age population, also available by gender. As globalisation and technology continue to re-shape the needs of labour markets worldwide, the demand for individuals with a broader knowledge base and more specialised skills continues to rise.

*data from 2021.
**Data from 2020.

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