Skip Navigation

Back Arrow Return Download Excel Excel format (451 KB)

Table B.3.08. Percentage of graduate degrees awarded in mathematics and science, by field and country: Selected years, 1985 through 2006

  All mathematics and science degrees1   Natural sciences2   Mathematics and computer science3   Engineering
       
Country 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2006   1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2006   1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2006   1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2006
OECD average4 27.5 24.5 23.5   10.8 8.7 7.9   5.1 5.0 4.9   12.2 11.8 11.5
                                                       
OECD countries                                                      
Australia 14.0 15.2 20.0 21.4   5.4 4.0 3.1 2.7   3.8 4.9 8.7 10.6   4.7 6.3 8.1 8.0
Austria 43.3 37.7 38.8 39.2 38.6 43.0   14.2 12.3 17.5 16.7 15.0 14.4   7.3 4.6 4.7 4.7 6.6 12.0   21.7 20.8 16.6 17.7 16.9 16.6
Belgium (Flemish) 18.7 19.7   12.7 9.3 9.6   3.3 3.7   7.0 6.2 6.4
Canada 19.7 20.0 22.3 22.4 18.8 25.3   7.5 7.8 7.7 7.4 5.0 6.5   2.8 3.4 3.5 4.1 4.0 4.9   9.4 8.8 11.2 10.9 9.8 13.9
Czech Republic (5) (5) 21.0 26.1 16.4   (5) (5) 5.3 8.3 4.3   (5) (5) 7.9 5.6 3.3   (5) (5) 7.7 12.3 8.7
                                                       
Denmark 16.0 22.2 12.3 27.8 23.4 22.2   4.1 5.8 3.1 9.8 7.5 6.9   2.7 4.8 1.5 2.5 9.2 8.0   9.2 11.6 7.8 15.4 6.7 7.2
Finland 47.6 30.6 28.3 28.7 30.5 33.8   24.0 14.7 11.6 11.3 11.6 12.4   6.3 5.4 4.0 2.4 4.1 4.5   17.2 10.5 12.7 14.9 14.8 16.9
France 26.4 28.4 26.6   13.5 12.5 10.1   5.6 7.0 6.5   7.3 8.9 10.1
Germany6 27.7 33.2 38.6 38.1 30.9 31.3   18.7 23.5 25.5 24.9 14.8 14.0   1.8 2.3 3.5 3.7 4.8 5.7   7.2 7.4 9.5 9.5 11.3 11.7
Greece 42.8   22.3   5.3   15.2
                                                       
Hungary 9.9 6.4 6.1   1.7 1.8 1.7   0.7 1.7 1.2   7.5 2.9 3.2
Iceland 35.9 23.0 14.8   19.4 9.5 7.0   # 3.0 1.9   16.5 10.5 5.9
Ireland 31.4 34.5 23.1 28.1 16.8   18.9 19.5 10.9 6.9 4.1   2.6 5.8 3.0 15.2 6.3   9.9 9.3 9.2 6.0 6.4 6.1
Italy 11.7 15.9 18.2   0.3 3.5 4.8   5.8 3.5 2.0   5.7 8.9 11.3
Japan   9.5 9.5 10.2     40.5 45.1 44.4 41.9 38.0 36.9
                                                       
Korea, Republic of 48.4 43.9 41.6   8.5 9.5 9.2   5.7 2.0 1.8   34.3 32.4 30.6
Mexico 31.4 14.7 14.0   18.9 3.3 3.2   4.1 3.2 3.6   8.4 8.2 7.2
Netherlands 28.9 18.6 18.2 14.7   20.6 17.7 4.4 4.1 3.2   1.5 3.7 2.3 2.5   7.5 9.7 10.6 1.2 11.9 8.9
New Zealand 45.1 22.6 16.7 20.5 16.6 15.0   24.6 13.8 12.7 11.6 7.2 7.7   5.4 4.7 1.1 1.4 5.2 4.0   15.1 4.0 3.0 7.5 4.2 3.3
Norway 40.1 33.4 38.3 22.0 25.8 26.1   17.9 8.0 8.7 14.9 7.8 8.2   3.5 2.1 1.9 4.6 11.9 11.7   18.7 23.3 27.7 2.5 6.1 6.2
                                                       
Poland 3.3 8.7 9.8   0.7 1.5 2.6   0.7 3.7 3.1   1.9 3.5 4.1
Portugal 39.3 33.8 35.8   11.7 12.0 12.9   9.4 10.0 10.4   18.2 11.9 12.5
Slovak Republic (5) (5) 38.1 36.8 34.3   (5) (5) 12.6 10.8 9.2   (5) (5) 4.7 4.2 4.2   (5) (5) 20.9 21.8 21.0
Spain 35.6 26.9 36.0 36.1 37.5 26.1   28.6 19.7 24.8 23.9 23.8 17.8   1.8 1.4 4.1 5.4 4.6 3.2   5.1 5.7 7.1 6.8 9.1 5.1
Sweden 48.0 48.5 32.3 40.5 23.7 30.3   21.2 19.4 9.2 14.3 8.0 8.5   6.8 9.2 5.9 4.0 2.8 4.1   20.0 19.9 17.1 22.2 12.9 17.7
                                                       
Switzerland 30.7 30.2 40.1 42.7 32.0 31.0   20.3 22.0 25.8 11.7 11.7 12.9   2.8 1.7 4.1 19.5 3.4 3.2   7.6 6.5 10.1 11.6 16.9 14.9
Turkey 35.8 24.0 25.7 21.4 20.1   6.6 7.6 7.6 6.7 5.9   2.8 3.3 3.0 3.4 3.2   26.3 13.2 15.2 11.2 11.0
United Kingdom 21.7 20.3 20.1   7.4 5.5 5.5   5.0 5.7 5.3   9.2 9.0 9.3
United States 13.5 14.5 13.8 13.0 13.5 13.1   4.5 4.2 4.0 3.4 3.3 3.4   2.8 3.4 3.2 3.4 3.5 3.3   6.3 6.9 6.7 6.2 6.7 6.4
Non-OECD countries                                                      
Brazil      
Chile 8.5 8.7   2.2 3.2   1.6 1.2   4.6 4.2
Estonia (5) (5) 23.9 22.3   (5) (5) 10.0 10.3   (5) (5) 5.0 5.0   (5) (5) 8.9 7.0
Israel 18.1 17.9 19.5   9.2 8.9 9.6   2.8 3.2 3.5   6.1 5.9 6.5
Russian Federation (5) (5)   (5) (5)   (5) (5)   (5) (5)
Slovenia (5) (5) 24.2 20.4   (5) (5) 6.4 5.6   (5) (5) 4.2 4.4   (5) (5) 13.6 10.5
— Not available.
# Rounds to zero.
1Includes life sciences, physical sciences, mathematics/statistics, computer science, and engineering.
2Includes life sciences and physical sciences.
3Includes mathematics/statistics and computer science.
4Refers to the mean of the data values for all reporting OECD countries, to which each country reporting data contributes equally. The average is omitted for years in which less than 75 percent of the countries reported data.
5Country did not exist in its current form in the given year.
6Data for 1985 are for the former West Germany.
NOTE: Data in this table refer to degrees classified by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) level 5A, second award, and as ISCED 6. ISCED 5A, second award, corresponds to master's and first-professional degrees in the United States, and ISCED 6 corresponds to doctor's degrees. Data for Luxembourg are not shown because tertiary students study for only 1 year in Luxembourg. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.
SOURCE: Data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Snyder, T.D., and Dillow, S.A. (2010). Digest of Education Statistics 2009 (NCES 2010-013), table 415. National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S Department of Education. Washington, DC.