China vs Turkey: Share of the population with tertiary education

China
8.7%
in 2020
Turkey
10.8%
in 2020
China rank
69th
Turkey rank
66th

Share of the population with tertiary education over time

  • China
  • Turkey
02.557.51012.5187019452020

How they compare

Turkey currently reports 10.8% against 8.7% in China, a difference of 2.1%.

That makes Turkey's figure about 1.2 times China's.

Across all 31 years both countries report, Turkey has been ahead every year.

China ranks 69th and Turkey ranks 66th of 111 countries.

Turkey has averaged higher in every one of the 16 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade China Turkey Difference Ahead
1870s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
1880s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
1890s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
1900s 0.0% 0.2% 0.2% Turkey
1910s 0.0% 0.5% 0.5% Turkey
1920s 0.0% 0.6% 0.6% Turkey
1930s 0.1% 0.9% 0.8% Turkey
1940s 0.1% 0.9% 0.8% Turkey
1950s 0.3% 1.1% 0.8% Turkey
1960s 0.8% 1.1% 0.4% Turkey
1970s 1.1% 1.7% 0.6% Turkey
1980s 1.3% 7.9% 6.6% Turkey
1990s 2.7% 11.5% 8.8% Turkey
2000s 4.4% 9.9% 5.5% Turkey
2010s 4.7% 11.7% 7.0% Turkey
2020s 8.7% 10.8% 2.1% Turkey

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher share of the population with tertiary education, China or Turkey?
Turkey, at 10.8% against 8.7% in China as of 2020.
What is the difference in share of the population with tertiary education between China and Turkey?
2.1%, with Turkey ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China and Turkey?
31 years are reported by both, from 1870 to 2020.
How do China and Turkey rank globally for share of the population with tertiary education?
China ranks 69th and Turkey ranks 66th of 111 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of the population with tertiary education. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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China vs Turkey: Share of the population with tertiary education. Statizoid, drawing on Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 01 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/compare/share-of-the-population-with-completed-tertiary-education/china/turkiye/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of the population with tertiary education
Unit
%
Source
Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
111 places, 3,441 data points, 1870–2020
Last refreshed

Percentage of the population aged 25 to 65 years who have either completed or partially completed tertiary education.