New Zealand vs Switzerland: Share of the population with tertiary education
New Zealand
39.8%
in 2020
Switzerland
33.0%
in 2020
New Zealand rank
9th
Switzerland rank
12th
Share of the population with tertiary education over time
- New Zealand
- Switzerland
How they compare
New Zealand currently reports 39.8% against 33.0% in Switzerland, a difference of 6.8%.
That makes New Zealand's figure about 1.2 times Switzerland's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 31 shared years of data; in 1870 it was Switzerland ahead.
New Zealand ranks 9th and Switzerland ranks 12th of 111 countries.
Across the 16 decades both report, New Zealand averaged higher in 8 and Switzerland in 8.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | New Zealand | Switzerland | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | Switzerland |
| 1880s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.0% | Switzerland |
| 1890s | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.2% | New Zealand |
| 1900s | 0.7% | 0.3% | 0.3% | New Zealand |
| 1910s | 0.8% | 2.0% | 1.1% | Switzerland |
| 1920s | 1.5% | 4.0% | 2.5% | Switzerland |
| 1930s | 2.3% | 6.0% | 3.7% | Switzerland |
| 1940s | 3.1% | 7.8% | 4.7% | Switzerland |
| 1950s | 4.3% | 9.1% | 4.8% | Switzerland |
| 1960s | 5.2% | 9.7% | 4.5% | Switzerland |
| 1970s | 17.4% | 10.8% | 6.6% | New Zealand |
| 1980s | 32.7% | 13.4% | 19.3% | New Zealand |
| 1990s | 41.7% | 18.7% | 23.0% | New Zealand |
| 2000s | 42.9% | 23.4% | 19.5% | New Zealand |
| 2010s | 40.0% | 36.3% | 3.7% | New Zealand |
| 2020s | 39.8% | 33.0% | 6.8% | New Zealand |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of the population with tertiary education, New Zealand or Switzerland?
- New Zealand, at 39.8% against 33.0% in Switzerland as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of the population with tertiary education between New Zealand and Switzerland?
- 6.8%, with New Zealand ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for New Zealand and Switzerland?
- 31 years are reported by both, from 1870 to 2020.
- How do New Zealand and Switzerland rank globally for share of the population with tertiary education?
- New Zealand ranks 9th and Switzerland ranks 12th 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.
Individual pages
About this data
Percentage of the population aged 25 to 65 years who have either completed or partially completed tertiary education.