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Digest of Education Statistics
2021 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 603.30. Percentage of the population 25 to 64 years old who attained a postsecondary degree, by highest degree attained, age group, and country: 2020
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Country Associate's degree (short-cycle tertiary) Bachelor's or equivalent degree Master's or equivalent degree Doctoral or equivalent degree
Total,
25 to 64
years old
25 to 34
years old
35 to 44
years old
45 to 54
years old
55 to 64
years old
Total,
25 to 64
years old
25 to 34
years old
35 to 44
years old
45 to 54
years old
55 to 64 years old Total,
25 to 64
years old
25 to 34
years old
35 to 44
years old
45 to 54 years old 55 to 64
years old
Total,
25 to 64
years old
25 to 34 years old 35 to 44 years old 45 to 54 years old 55 to 64 years old
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
OECD average1 7.2   (0.02) 7.9   (0.05) 7.8   (0.05) 7.7   (0.04) 7.2   (0.04) 18.2   (0.03) 24.5   (0.08) 20.6   (0.07) 15.5   (0.06) 12.1   (0.05) 13.5   (0.03) 14.7   (0.07) 16.4   (0.07) 12.8   (0.06) 10.0   (0.06) 1.3   (0.01) 1.0   (0.02) 1.7   (0.03) 1.4   (0.02) 1.1   (0.02)
Australia 11.8   (0.20) 10.5   (0.39) 12.5   (0.41) 12.9   (0.42) 11.4   (0.41) 27.3   (0.28) 32.3   (0.60) 32.0   (0.58) 24.0   (0.54) 18.9   (0.50) 8.5   (0.18) 10.8   (0.40) 11.3   (0.39) 6.7   (0.31) 4.3   (0.26) 1.7   (0.08) 1.1   (0.13) 2.2   (0.18) 2.1   (0.18) 1.7   (0.17)
Austria 15.2   (0.11) 15.9   (0.25) 14.8   (0.24) 16.2   (0.22) 13.8   (0.21) 4.5   (0.07) 11.2   (0.22) 4.5   (0.14) 1.8   (0.08) 1.2   (0.06) 13.3   (0.11) 13.7   (0.24) 18.2   (0.26) 12.2   (0.20) 9.5   (0.18) 1.2   (0.03) 0.6   (0.05) 2.0   (0.09) 1.2   (0.07) 1.0   (0.06)
Belgium 0.6   (0.03) 0.6   (0.06) 0.7   (0.06) 0.7   (0.06) 0.5   (0.05) 23.0   (0.15) 25.7   (0.34) 25.0   (0.31) 22.4   (0.29) 18.9   (0.26) 18.2   (0.14) 21.6   (0.32) 22.0   (0.30) 17.1   (0.26) 12.4   (0.22) 0.6   (0.03) 0.6   (0.06) 0.9   (0.07) 0.6   (0.05) 0.4   (0.04)
Canada3 25.6   (0.19) 24.0   (0.35) 26.1   (0.35) 26.9   (0.35) 25.4   (0.33) 23.3   (0.21) 28.6   (0.40) 25.6   (0.39) 22.6   (0.35) 16.3   (0.31) 11.1   (0.16) 11.8   (0.31) 13.6   (0.30) 10.9   (0.29) 8.3   (0.22) [2]   (†) [2]   (†) [2]   (†) [2]   (†) [2]   (†)
Chile4 8.7   (0.09) 10.2   (0.18) 9.6   (0.18) 8.5   (0.16) 6.2   (0.15) 14.7   (0.11) 22.1   (0.24) 17.1   (0.23) 9.7   (0.17) 8.6   (0.17) 1.7   (0.04) 1.5   (0.07) 2.6   (0.10) 1.6   (0.07) 1.2   (0.07) [2]   (†) [2]   (†) [2]   (†) [2]   (†) [2]   (†)

Colombia
[5]   (†) [5]   (†) [5]   (†) [5]   (†) [5]   (†) 24.6   (0.08) 30.0   (0.15) 27.9   (0.16) 19.8   (0.15) 16.1   (0.14) [6]   (†) [6]   (†) [6]   (†) [6]   (†) [6]   (†) [6]   (†) [6]   (†) [6]   (†) [6]   (†) [6]   (†)
Costa Rica 6.3   (0.23) 10.3   (0.54) 5.3   (0.41) 3.6   (0.36) 5.2   (0.45) 16.2   (0.35) 21.2   (0.73) 17.8   (0.71) 12.0   (0.62) 12.5   (0.67) 2.5   (0.15) 1.0   (0.17) 2.8   (0.31) 3.6   (0.36) 3.1   (0.35) [2]   (†) [2]   (†) [2]   (†) [2]   (†) [2]   (†)
Czech Republic 0.1   (0.01) 0.1   (0.02) #   (†) 0.1   (0.02) 0.1   (0.02) 6.5   (0.08) 12.0   (0.24) 7.9   (0.17) 4.1   (0.12) 1.9   (0.08) 17.5   (0.12) 20.6   (0.29) 19.6   (0.25) 14.5   (0.21) 15.0   (0.22) 0.8   (0.03) 0.4   (0.04) 1.4   (0.07) 0.7   (0.05) 0.7   (0.05)
Denmark7 4.9   (0.10) 4.3   (0.20) 5.4   (0.22) 5.6   (0.20) 4.2   (0.16) 20.4   (0.18) 22.8   (0.42) 21.8   (0.40) 18.7   (0.33) 18.4   (0.31) 13.8   (0.15) 19.3   (0.39) 17.2   (0.36) 11.6   (0.27) 7.3   (0.21) 1.4   (0.05) 0.8   (0.09) 2.1   (0.14) 1.7   (0.11) 0.9   (0.08)
Estonia 6.3   (0.19) ---   (†) 3.3   (0.27) 9.9   (0.44) 12.5   (0.50) 13.6   (0.27) 25.9   (0.75) 17.2   (0.57) 8.2   (0.40) 2.1   (0.22) 21.5   (0.32) 16.6   (0.64) 22.7   (0.64) 22.9   (0.62) 24.1   (0.65) 0.8   (0.07) 0.7   (0.14) 1.4   (0.18) 0.6   (0.12) 0.5   (0.11)

Finland
9.7   (0.12) ---   (†) 2.1   (0.12) 16.4   (0.31) 20.4   (0.31) 19.5   (0.16) 29.2   (0.41) 26.7   (0.37) 13.9   (0.29) 8.4   (0.21) 17.2   (0.16) 15.1   (0.32) 22.3   (0.35) 19.0   (0.33) 12.6   (0.25) 1.4   (0.05) 0.4   (0.06) 2.0   (0.12) 1.8   (0.11) 1.5   (0.09)
France 14.9   (0.08) 13.4   (0.18) 18.1   (0.18) 16.0   (0.16) 11.9   (0.14) 11.0   (0.07) 13.3   (0.18) 12.8   (0.16) 11.3   (0.14) 7.0   (0.11) 12.8   (0.08) 22.2   (0.22) 14.7   (0.17) 9.0   (0.13) 6.6   (0.11) 1.0   (0.02) 0.6   (0.04) 1.2   (0.05) 1.1   (0.05) 0.9   (0.04)
Germany 0.6   (0.01) 0.4   (0.02) 0.5   (0.03) 0.6   (0.03) 0.7   (0.03) 17.0   (0.06) 19.3   (0.15) 17.4   (0.14) 16.0   (0.12) 15.7   (0.11) 12.1   (0.06) 14.1   (0.13) 14.5   (0.13) 10.6   (0.10) 9.6   (0.09) 1.6   (0.02) 1.1   (0.04) 2.2   (0.05) 1.8   (0.04) 1.5   (0.04)
Greece 1.5   (0.04) 1.2   (0.09) 0.9   (0.06) 1.3   (0.07) 2.8   (0.09) 22.6   (0.13) 32.3   (0.40) 23.0   (0.28) 20.7   (0.23) 16.2   (0.21) 7.7   (0.09) 9.9   (0.25) 10.3   (0.20) 6.8   (0.15) 4.2   (0.11) 0.9   (0.03) 0.4   (0.05) 1.3   (0.07) 0.9   (0.05) 0.7   (0.05)
Hungary 1.2   (0.03) 2.1   (0.10) 1.5   (0.08) 0.8   (0.05) 0.3   (0.03) 13.3   (0.11) 11.1   (0.23) 16.7   (0.24) 12.7   (0.20) 12.1   (0.19) 12.0   (0.10) 16.9   (0.27) 14.2   (0.22) 9.4   (0.17) 7.5   (0.16) 0.7   (0.03) 0.5   (0.05) 0.8   (0.06) 0.9   (0.06) 0.6   (0.04)

Iceland
1.9   (0.15) 1.1   (0.23) 1.8   (0.28) 2.2   (0.31) 2.9   (0.35) 21.1   (0.43) 22.1   (0.89) 24.3   (0.89) 22.3   (0.88) 14.9   (0.74) 16.3   (0.39) 14.7   (0.76) 20.0   (0.83) 18.8   (0.82) 11.3   (0.66) 1.3   (0.12) 0.4 ! (0.13) 1.3   (0.24) 1.6   (0.26) 2.3   (0.31)
Ireland 7.2   (0.11) 5.2   (0.23) 7.5   (0.21) 8.3   (0.21) 7.5   (0.21) 28.8   (0.19) 36.7   (0.49) 31.7   (0.37) 27.0   (0.33) 18.4   (0.30) 12.6   (0.14) 15.2   (0.37) 15.7   (0.29) 11.6   (0.24) 6.5   (0.19) 1.4   (0.05) 1.2   (0.11) 1.6   (0.10) 1.4   (0.09) 1.0   (0.08)
Israel 12.3   (0.07) 10.3   (0.12) 11.8   (0.13) 13.5   (0.15) 14.1   (0.17) 23.8   (0.09) 28.4   (0.17) 26.8   (0.18) 20.2   (0.18) 17.1   (0.19) 12.9   (0.07) 8.1   (0.11) 15.8   (0.15) 14.8   (0.16) 13.2   (0.17) 1.2   (0.02) 0.4   (0.02) 1.3   (0.05) 1.7   (0.06) 1.7   (0.06)
Italy #   (†) 0.1   (0.01) #   (†) #   (†)   (†) 4.9   (0.04) 11.9   (0.15) 6.1   (0.10) 2.3   (0.05) 1.5   (0.04) 14.7   (0.07) 16.5   (0.18) 17.6   (0.16) 14.0   (0.12) 11.3   (0.11) 0.6   (0.01) 0.4   (0.03) 0.9   (0.04) 0.6   (0.03) 0.3   (0.02)
Japan7,8 21.4 9 (0.16) 19.6 9 (0.35) 24.1 9 (0.34) 23.1 9 (0.31) 18.2 9 (0.31) 31.3   (0.18) 42.0   (0.43) 33.4   (0.37) 25.8   (0.32) 26.3   (0.36) [6]   (†) [6]   (†) [6]   (†) [6]   (†) [6]   (†) [6]   (†) [6]   (†) [6]   (†) [6]   (†) [6]   (†)

Korea, Republic of 8
14.1   (0.20) 21.1   (0.50) 20.0   (0.46) 11.6   (0.34) 5.1   (0.25) 32.2   (0.27) 45.3   (0.60) 40.4   (0.56) 28.9   (0.49) 16.7   (0.42) 4.4   (0.12) 3.4   (0.22) 5.7   (0.26) 5.2   (0.24) 3.3   (0.20) [2]   (†) [2]   (†) [2]   (†) [2]   (†) [2]   (†)
Latvia 3.7   (0.13) 7.5   (0.43) 4.1   (0.30) 2.4   (0.21) 1.1   (0.13) 15.2   (0.26) 25.1   (0.70) 21.4   (0.61) 11.5   (0.44) 3.7   (0.24) 18.6   (0.28) 11.6   (0.52) 15.8   (0.54) 21.9   (0.57) 24.4   (0.54) 0.4   (0.05)   (†) 1.0   (0.15) 0.4   (0.09) 0.1 ! (0.05)
Lithuania   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 28.3   (0.26) 39.9   (0.70) 35.6   (0.61) 22.4   (0.45) 17.5   (0.38) 15.1   (0.21) 15.8   (0.52) 18.2   (0.49) 13.5   (0.37) 13.3   (0.34) 0.7   (0.05) 0.5   (0.10) 1.2   (0.13) 0.8   (0.10) 0.5   (0.07)
Luxembourg 4.8   (0.29) 3.6   (0.50) 5.1   (0.58) 6.1   (0.64) 4.8   (0.59) 16.4   (0.50) 21.2   (1.11) 17.7   (1.00) 13.9   (0.92) 10.4   (0.84) 27.6   (0.60) 32.1   (1.27) 34.6   (1.25) 23.2   (1.12) 16.9   (1.03) 2.5   (0.21)   (†) 4.3   (0.53) 2.6   (0.42)   (†)
Mexico 0.5   (0.02) 0.7   (0.04) 0.7   (0.04) 0.4   (0.03) 0.4   (0.03) 17.1   (0.09) 23.3   (0.19) 16.8   (0.17) 13.3   (0.16) 12.8   (0.18) 1.7   (0.03) 1.3   (0.05) 1.9   (0.06) 2.0   (0.07) 1.8   (0.07) 0.1   (0.01) #   (†) 0.1   (0.02) 0.1   (0.01) 0.1   (0.02)

Netherlands
2.1   (0.03) 1.2   (0.05) 2.0   (0.07) 2.6   (0.06) 2.5   (0.06) 24.9   (0.09) 30.9   (0.23) 28.1   (0.21) 22.5   (0.16) 18.9   (0.14) 14.8   (0.07) 19.6   (0.20) 17.3   (0.18) 12.9   (0.13) 10.1   (0.11) 0.9   (0.02) 0.6   (0.04) 1.3   (0.05) 0.9   (0.04) 0.7   (0.03)
New Zealand 4.1   (0.14) 3.7   (0.27) 3.9   (0.28) 4.3   (0.28) 4.7   (0.30) 29.1   (0.32) 34.2   (0.67) 33.2   (0.68) 27.2   (0.62) 20.7   (0.58) 5.7   (0.16) 5.2   (0.32) 7.0   (0.37) 5.6   (0.32) 5.0   (0.31) 1.2   (0.08) 0.7   (0.12) 1.6   (0.18) 1.3   (0.16) 1.1   (0.15)
Norway 11.0   (0.13) 11.8   (0.27) 11.4   (0.27) 10.6   (0.25) 9.9   (0.25) 20.2   (0.17) 23.2   (0.36) 21.5   (0.35) 19.7   (0.32) 15.8   (0.31) 12.7   (0.14) 15.1   (0.30) 15.8   (0.31) 11.6   (0.26) 7.7   (0.23) 1.5   (0.05) 0.7   (0.07) 2.2   (0.12) 1.9   (0.11) 1.0   (0.09)
Poland 0.1   (0.01)   (†)   (†) 0.2   (0.02) 0.2   (0.02) 7.3   (0.07) 13.1   (0.21) 8.4   (0.15) 4.3   (0.11) 2.8   (0.08) 24.9   (0.12) 29.1   (0.28) 34.1   (0.25) 21.0   (0.22) 13.4   (0.17) 0.6   (0.02) 0.2   (0.03) 1.0   (0.05) 0.8   (0.05) 0.4   (0.03)
Portugal   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 7.9   (0.11) 23.7   (0.48) 6.0   (0.20) 3.6   (0.13) 2.2   (0.10) 19.3   (0.16) 17.7   (0.43) 25.7   (0.37) 19.3   (0.28) 13.9   (0.25) 0.9   (0.04)   (†) 1.4   (0.10) 1.0   (0.07) 0.8   (0.06)

Slovak Republic
0.2   (0.04)   (†)   (†) 0.2 ! (0.08) 0.2 ! (0.08) 3.2   (0.17) 6.5   (0.54) 3.3   (0.35) 1.7   (0.24) 1.0   (0.17) 22.7   (0.40) 31.4   (1.02) 24.8   (0.85) 18.0   (0.72) 15.6   (0.60) 0.7   (0.08) 0.9   (0.20) 0.6   (0.15) 0.6   (0.15) 0.6   (0.12)
Slovenia 7.0   (0.14) 6.5   (0.31) 6.7   (0.29) 7.6   (0.27) 7.1   (0.26) 7.8   (0.15) 12.1   (0.42) 10.8   (0.36) 5.5   (0.23) 3.7   (0.19) 15.9   (0.20) 17.8   (0.49) 20.9   (0.47) 14.9   (0.37) 10.5   (0.31) 5.2   (0.12) 9.1   (0.37) 5.7   (0.27) 4.1   (0.20) 2.7   (0.16)
Spain 12.1   (0.06) 14.0   (0.16) 14.0   (0.12) 12.5   (0.11) 7.9   (0.09) 10.7   (0.05) 16.0   (0.16) 11.3   (0.11) 8.9   (0.09) 7.9   (0.09) 15.9   (0.06) 16.8   (0.17) 19.2   (0.14) 16.0   (0.12) 11.4   (0.10) 0.9   (0.02) 0.5   (0.03) 1.0   (0.03) 1.0   (0.03) 1.1   (0.03)
Sweden 9.8   (0.10) 10.5   (0.22) 10.0   (0.21) 8.9   (0.19) 10.0   (0.21) 18.4   (0.14) 23.7   (0.31) 21.1   (0.29) 16.9   (0.25) 10.9   (0.21) 14.6   (0.12) 14.2   (0.25) 19.5   (0.28) 14.1   (0.24) 10.1   (0.21) 1.8   (0.05) 0.7   (0.06) 2.9   (0.12) 2.0   (0.10) 1.6   (0.09)
Switzerland [10]   (†) [10]   (†) [10]   (†) [10]   (†) [10]   (†) 22.7   (0.15) 29.0   (0.40) 23.8   (0.30) 20.6   (0.26) 17.6   (0.25) 19.6   (0.14) 21.8   (0.36) 23.0   (0.30) 18.9   (0.25) 14.6   (0.23) 3.0   (0.06) 2.2   (0.13) 3.8   (0.13) 3.3   (0.11) 2.5   (0.10)
Turkey7,8 6.1   (0.12) 9.9   (0.26) 5.1   (0.20) 3.7   (0.19) 4.2   (0.23) 13.4   (0.16) 22.3   (0.37) 13.4   (0.31) 7.6   (0.26) 5.6   (0.26) 2.0   (0.07) 2.9   (0.15) 2.6   (0.14) 1.2   (0.11) 0.7   (0.10) 0.4   (0.03) 0.2   (0.04) 0.6   (0.07) 0.5   (0.07) 0.4   (0.07)
United Kingdom 9.5   (0.15) 7.0   (0.29) 8.2   (0.29) 11.2   (0.32) 11.8   (0.31) 25.5   (0.23) 32.9   (0.54) 29.2   (0.48) 21.9   (0.41) 17.4   (0.37) 12.9   (0.17) 14.5   (0.41) 16.2   (0.39) 11.7   (0.32) 8.9   (0.27) 1.5   (0.06) 1.5   (0.14) 1.9   (0.15) 1.5   (0.12) 1.3   (0.11)
United States 11.0   (0.11) 10.8   (0.22) 10.8   (0.21) 11.1   (0.22) 11.3   (0.23) 25.0   (0.15) 29.1   (0.33) 25.7   (0.30) 23.9   (0.30) 20.9   (0.29) 12.1   (0.12) 10.5   (0.22) 14.2   (0.24) 13.5   (0.24) 10.4   (0.22) 2.0   (0.05) 1.5   (0.09) 2.3   (0.10) 2.4   (0.11) 1.8   (0.10)
---Not available.
†Not applicable.
#Rounds to zero.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
‡Reporting standards not met.
1 Refers to the mean of the data values for all reporting Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, to which each country reporting data contributes equally. Standard errors for the OECD average were estimated by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
2 Doctoral or equivalent degree data are included in columns for master's or equivalent degree.
3 Standard errors were calculated by Statistics Canada.
4 Data are from 2017.
5 Associate's degree data are included in columns for bachelor's or equivalent degree.
6 Master's or equivalent degree data and doctoral or equivalent degree data are included in columns for bachelor's or equivalent degree.
7 Data are from 2019.
8 Standard errors were estimated by NCES.
9 Associate's degree data include awards from postsecondary nondegree programs (i.e., awards that are below the associate's degree level).
10 Associate's degree data are included in columns for bachelor's or equivalent, master's or equivalent, and doctoral or equivalent degrees.
NOTE: All data in this table were calculated using the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011 classification of tertiary degrees. Includes degrees at ISCED 2011 level 5 (short-cycle tertiary, which corresponds to the associate's degree in the United States), level 6 (bachelor's or equivalent degree), level 7 (master's or equivalent degree), and level 8 (doctoral or equivalent degree). For more information on OECD and NCES estimation methodology, see the "Online Education Database" section of the entry for OECD in Appendix A: Guide to Sources.
SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Online Education Database, retrieved September 16, 2021, from https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019. (This table was prepared September 2021.)

2021 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest