EDUCATION INDICATORS: An International Perspective
Indicator 12: Upper Secondary Education Attainment
Completion of at least an upper secondary level of education*roughly equivalent to completing high school in the United Statesprovides an indirect measure of a nation's total supply of citizens with specific educational knowledge and skills and, hence, some indication of the country's capacity for sustained economic growth and competitiveness. Reporting the education attainment levels of different age cohorts provides some indication of how a country's educational opportunities have expanded over time.
- Of the G-7 countries compared in 1992, the United States, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom each reported that more than 75 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds had completed at least an upper secondary level of education. Italy was the only G-7 country reported in which fewer than 50 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds had completed at least an upper secondary level of education.
- The percentage of adults having completed at least an upper secondary
level of education generally increased with each successively younger age
cohort. However, the magnitude of the increase differed across countries. Of
the G-7 countries compared, the difference between the youngest and oldest age
groups ranged from 14 percentage points in the United States to 38 percentage
points in France.
Of the remaining countries, Finland had the largest difference (51 percentage points) and New Zealand had the smallest (11 percentage points). - In addition, the absolute levels of education attainment differed considerably across countries, particularly among the older age groups. Excluding Portugal and Turkey, there was more variation in upper secondary education attainment across countries at ages 55-64 than at ages 25-34. For instance, in the United States, upper secondary attainment for 55- to 64-year-olds was 73 percentthe highest attainment rate for this age cohort among all the countries reported. Within the G-7 countries reported, Italy had the lowest upper secondary education attainment for 55- to 64-year-olds, 12 percent. Thus, the difference in attainment between these two countries at ages 55-64 was 61 percentage points, and the difference at ages 25-34 was 45 percentage points.
*For further explanation of the levels of education, see the sidebar entitled ISCED levels of education.
Table 12: Percentage of the population within various age groups having attained at least an upper secondary level of education, by country: 1992
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Age group Country 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- G-71 Canada 81 78 66 49 France 67 57 47 29 Germany 89 87 81 69 Italy 42 35 21 12 United Kingdom 81 71 62 51 United States 87 88 83 73 Other Australia2 57 56 51 42 Austria 79 71 65 50 Belgium 60 52 38 24 Czechoslovakia3 87 79 68 51 Denmark 67 61 58 45 Finland 82 69 52 31 Ireland 56 44 35 25 Netherlands 68 61 52 42 New Zealand 60 58 55 49 Norway 88 83 75 61 Portugal3 21 17 10 7 Spain 41 24 14 8 Sweden 83 76 65 48 Switzerland 87 84 78 70 Turkey 21 14 9 5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/ No data available for Japan.
2/ 1993 data.
3/1991 data.
NOTE: See supplemental note to Indicator 11 for details on indicator calculation for Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
SOURCE: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Center for Educational Research and Innovation, International Indicators Project, 1995.
Figure 12: Percentage of the population within various age groups having completed at least an upper secondary level of education, by G-7 country:* 1992
*No data available for Japan.
SOURCE: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Center for Educational Research and Innovation, International Indicators Project, 1995.
See supplemental notes to Indicator 11.
[Indicator 11]
[Indicator 13]